Samoa Shipping Corporation
Agency overview
Formed1974 (1974)
TypePublic trading body
Employees209 (in 2020)[1]: 18 
Annual budget$20.6 million (in 2020)[1]: 15 
Minister responsible
  • Minister of Works, Transport & Infrastructure
Agency executive
  • Leiataua Samuel Phineas, Chief Executive

The Samoa Shipping Corporation is a government-owned company in Samoa which provides freight and passenger services between Savai'i, Upolu and American Samoa. Established in 1974, the corporation is managed as a public trading body under the Public Bodies (Performance and Accountability) Act 2001.[2]

The corporation also provides maritime support services, including engineering services in Apia[3] and a slipway at Satitoa in Aleipata.[4] It maintains facilities at Mulifanua, Salelologa, Apia and Pago Pago.

History

MV Lady Samoa II at the Mulifanua ferry terminal

The corporation was initially funded by overseas aid. In 1974 the New Zealand government provided NZ$450,000 for the construction of a roll-on/roll-off ferry terminal at Mulifanua.[5] In 1977 the Australian government provided a ferry, the MV Queen Salamasina.[6] The company was unprofitable for its first twenty years, and gained a reputation for inefficiency. In 1985 it bought a "luxury boat", only to sell it back to the original owners just two years later for less than it had paid for it.[7] It finally started delivering dividends to the government in the late 1990's.[8] In 2001 it expanded its fleet, adding the Samoa Express on the Apia - Tokelau route.[9]

In 2008 the company constructed a wharf and slipway at Satitoa in Aleipata to reduce travel time to American Samoa and allow vessels to be maintained locally.[10] The new terminal was unpopular with exporters,[11] and services were shifted back to Apia after the Lady Naomi was damaged due to the dock not being deep enough.[12]

In 2011 it opened its engineering facility in Apia.[13] In 2012 it began providing bimonthly services to the Northern Cook Islands and to Tokelau.[14]

In 2019 - 2020 the company made a profit of $332,000, which was reduced due to the 2019 Samoa measles outbreak.[15]

Fleet

MV Fotu o Samoa II

Current

Samoa Shipping currently operates five vessels:[1]: 13 

  • MV Lady Naomi (since 1999)[16]
  • MV Lady Samoa III (since 2010)[17]
  • MV Fotu o Samoa II
  • MV Fasefulu (since 2015)[18]
  • MV Samoa Express II (since 2021)[19]

Past

  • MV Limulimutau
  • MV Queen Salamasina (1977—1999)
  • MV Puleono (1978—?)
  • MV Salafai
  • MV Tausala Samoa
  • MV Lady Samoa (1985—1987)
  • MV Fotu o Samoa
  • MV Lady Samoa II
  • MV Pacifica Express (ex-MV Tokelau) (2013—2022)[20][21]
  • MV Samoa Express (2001—2021)

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Annual Report 2020" (PDF). Samoa Shipping Corporation. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  2. ↑ "Samoa Shipping Corporation". Ministry for Public Enterprises. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "Marine engineering & fabrication services". Samoa Shipping Corporation. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021.
  4. ↑ "Slipway Services". Samoa Shipping Corporation. Archived from the original on 19 January 2021.
  5. ↑ "Ferry Service". Pacific Islands Monthly. Vol. 45, no. 7. 1 July 1974. p. 33. Retrieved 19 September 2021 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "SAMOA'S MV QUEEN SALAMASINA SOLD TO FIJI'S PATTERSON BROTHERS SHIPPING". Pacific Islands Report. 22 November 1999. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "Luxury lady sold for $1m". Samoa Observer. 21 October 1987. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  8. ↑ "SAMOA SHIPPING CORPORATION ON WINNING COURSE". Pacific Islands Report. 24 August 2000. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  9. ↑ "SAMOA SHIPPING ANNOUNCES $1.6 MILLION IN PROFITS". Pacific Islands Report. 1 October 2001. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  10. ↑ "SAMOA WHARF PROJECT BRINGS PROMISE OF TRADE". Pacific Islands Monthly. 10 July 2008. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "SAVAII EXPORTERS PROTEST SAMOA SHIPPING ROUTE". Pacific Islands Report. 15 November 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  12. ↑ "SAMOA FERRY RETURNS TO WHARF AT MATAUTU". Pacific Islands Report. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  13. ↑ "SAMOA SHIP REPAIR FACILITY OPENS NEW HORIZONS". Pacific Islands Report. 23 August 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  14. ↑ "Samoa inter-island ferries to service the Cook Islands and Tokelau". RNZ. 12 May 2012. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  15. ↑ Joyetter Feagaimaali'i (25 March 2021). "Samoa Shipping Corporation profit plummets". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  16. ↑ "SAMOA'S QUEEN SALAMASINA MAKES HER FINAL VOYAGE TO PAGO PAGO". Pacific Islands Report. 26 January 1999. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  17. ↑ "JAPAN PRESENTS SAMOA WITH $15 MILLION FERRY". Pacific Islands Report. 4 March 2010. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  18. ↑ "Samoa Ferry On 'Lifesaving Mission' To Tokelau Waters". Pacific Islands Report. 6 October 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  19. ↑ "'MV Samoa Express II' officially joins fleet". Loop Samoa. 12 March 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  20. ↑ "Tokelau Presents Samoa Shipping Corporation With Ferry". Pacific Islands Report. 25 January 2013. Archived from the original on 19 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  21. ↑ Sialai Sarafina Sanerivi (12 October 2022). "Businessman undecided on vessel's use". Samoa Observer. Retrieved 13 October 2022.
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