Shipping Company Buys Passenger and Cargo Ship MV Lomaiviti Princess - 19 August 2011

The MV Lomaiviti Princess was purchased from a shipping company in Canada for more than $2million by Gounder Shipping Services. It is on its way to the country from Canada and a traditional welcoming ceremony is scheduled to be held in Levuka next Wednesday. The shipping company’s manager, Tarun Naidu, said it was the first vessel that was purchased by the company. The ship is 101 metres long and it has the capacity to carry 800 passengers and 80 vehicles. “We haven’t decided on a route yet but we are thinking of servicing Levuka, Gau and Koro and other islands and we are only waiting for the approval from Fiji Islands Maritime Safety Administration,” he said.

“The vessel left Canada on August 5 and its owner, George Gounder, who is a qualified engineer, is also on board with the crew on their way to Fiji.”
Mr Naidu said the vessel would operate from Suva but its registered port would be Levuka. He said the company had done the necessary paperwork with MSA, which would give them approval on the actual number of passengers to carry among other things.

(fijitimes)