Page 21 - IB May 2018 Edition

Shipping

Unsinkable boat

hits the market

By Nanise Volau

A Fiji government owned company last
month demonstrated an unsinkable fibre
glass boat it claimed would be best suited
for maritime travel. ‘It takes in water, but does not sink.’ FSHIL operation manager Lopeti Radravu.
Boat manufacturer, Fiji Ships and Heavy Photos: Nanise Volau
Industries Limited (FSHIL) says the boat
it has put to the market is unsinkable be- Tonga vessel MV Onemato returned to serviced by Fiji Ships and Heavy Industries
cause it complies with the requirements of the island kingdom last month after being Limited (FSHIL), last year – 24 more than
the country’s maritime aids to navigation given a new lease of life and paint at the their target for the year.
regulations. Fiji Ships docks. The vessel belongs to “We undertake projects, such as the
Although it is better known as for its ‘Eua Sea Transport Council in Nuku’alofa manufacture of steel fuel tanks for a
dry docking and slipping services for and was on the FSHIL slipway for its an- variety of clients and more recently the
ships in Fiji and around the Pacific, FSHIL nual survey. It has been a busy month for fabrication of mooring buoys for Suva
launched its new boat product in Suva last FSHIL with more vessels coming in for Harbour capable of holding 30 to 50 tonne
month after a lapse of 50 years. servicing in its slipways. vessels,” he said.
“The continuous report of loss of lives at FSHIL although operates as a self- Radravu said they are proud of not only
sea involving fibre glass boats prompted funded entity, is also a subsidiary com- to service the vessels from the region but
us (FSHIL) to resume boat building in pany of Fiji Ports Corporation Limited fishing vessels from Asian countries as
Fiji,” said Operations Manager of FSHIL, (FPCL). Its core function is the slipping of well.
Opeti Radravu. marine vessels, carrying out ship repairs “Due to our reputation as a trusted
“This is to ensure that the standards and maintenance, heavy industrial and name in the Pacific built on the pride we
of fibre glass boats are not compromised engineering works. take in on time delivery and our consistent
guaranteeing safety to the travelling pub- Radravu said the number of vessels track record of reliability, we also offer a
lic. The hull must have 12 layer thickness serviced by FHSIL last year surpassed reasonable price for our services compared
of chop-strand match. Most of the boats their target. to others.
build nowadays have the longitudinal “Our target was 113 vessels for each “Our regional clients are from Solomon
girder stops at the frames. year but we did surpass our target last Islands, Vanuatu Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru,
“Boat building law demands that the year, although less than 148 vessels dry Kiribati and Marshall Islands, and have
buoyancy should be adequate meaning docked in 2016,” Radravu said. also included some American registered
that in any circumstance at sea, the boat “Our capacity for steel fabrication up fishing vessels.
should still remain or seen 1metre above to 3000 tonnes has made it possible for “FSHIL finally secured the Samoa
the water line. Materials used to build FHSIL to design multipurpose, roll-on- market after three decades with the dry
these are slippery so for any incidents roll-off, steel hulled vessels, specifically docking of the Samoan Government vessel
there is little hope for passengers to cling for inter-island transport and trading,” Lady Samoa III in March.”
onto the boat which is why FSHIL is en- he said. Majority of the vessels dry docked were
suring that there are passengers’ grabber “Our experienced tradesmen are recog- fishing vessels that needed water blasting
line on both sides of the boat,” he said. nised for their skills, having fabricated the and painting.
These lifeboats must also be fully 40 tonne steel bridge box-grider, casting The decision to use the 200 tonne slip-
equipped with life saving apparatus as mould that was used in the pouring of the way is due to the high demand for services
required by law and each costs between concrete support piles on the Rewa Bridge from shipping companies. The slipway
US$4,400 to $5,900. (in Nausori, Fiji) construction, beginning has not been used for a while, as it will
In launching its new boat product, in 2003 and completed in 2006.” undergo renovation to be upgraded into a
FSHIL said it aims to set the standard for Established in the 1960’s by the then 500 tonne slipway.
ship repairing in the Pacific region based British Colonial administration, FSHIL
on safety and reliability of its services. accommodates emergency calls from ship
The company has been providing ship operators, through the Maritime Safety
repair and maintenance to the region for Authority of Fiji (MSAF) as part of its role
more than 50 years providing a solid under the International Maritime Organi-
foundation over the years as one of the sation (IMO).
region’s leading ship repair companies. It adheres to the International Asso-
A total of seven vessels have been ciation of Classification Societies (IACS)
serviced so far going into the third week standards. This professional, accredited
of the month. certification body of which Fiji is a member
Vanuatu vessel LCT Kalyara is currently country, complies with ISO-IEC 17021:
on the 200 tonne capacity dry docks for 2006 for ship repair and refit.
repairs. A total of 137 vessels were received and A fishing vessel on FSHIL’s slipway.

Islands Business, May 2018 21