After clearing foreign vessel from Fiji
THE vessel Papa Mau (pictured below) is making waves on two fronts in Solomon Islands – politically as well as on the much-feared COVID-19 pandemic.
Registered in the Cook Islands as a General Cargo ship, Papa Mau’s secret entry into and departure out of Honiara the next day without the mandatory 14-day quarantine requirement under the State of Public Emergency [SOPE] is fuelling political debate in Honiara.
The ship’s secret entry and departure from Honiara had been kept under wrap for the past two weeks.
Now the focus of the political debate has somewhat shifted on to TRADCO – the ship’s agent in Honiara.
How did TRADCO avoid the mandatory 14-day quarantine requirement, when there was no emergency for the vessel to leave just as quickly as it came in. Was there a fee and if so, how much and to whom was the fee paid?,” one concerned pilot asked yesterday.
The majority of Papa Mau’s crew members including its captain are largely Fijians, sources told Solomon Star.
“All the crew members were never even swabbed – not on the day the ship arrived or when it departed Honiara the next day, the sources said.
An investigation by Solomon Star found the vessel Papa Mau arrived in Honiara from Fiji on 14th July 2021. It loaded about 31 containers of mixed goods and headed for Nauru, where its crew members were swabbed –tested.
Nauru authorities ordered the vessel out of the country without unloading the 31 containers destined for Nauru after swab tests returned positives for 13 of the crew members, possibly with the deadly Delta variant of the virus.
Twenty Solomon Islands nationals – 15 stevedores, one pilot, two Customs officers, one Tradco agent and one launch operator – involved in clearing the vessel in Honiara are on a 14-day quarantine at the GBR quarantine centre.
They are waiting for the result of their second swab as they fear they might have been infected with the virus, the sources said.
“They are worried sick why they were made to work on a ship which came from Fiji, a country fighting to contain the spread of the Delta variant – the most deadly of the virus yet.
“These 20 Solomon Islands nationals are demanding answers as to who authorised the quarantine waiver for the vessel, Papa Mau.”
Solomon Star’s investigation also found that Papa Mau was built in 1999 and its ownership changed hands four times in the Cook Islands. Its former names are:
XIN PING JIANG 6066 (2019, Cook Islands) ;
PAPA MAU (2019, China) ;
OLOMANA (2017, Cook Islands) ;
SOUTHERN REEF (2013, Cook Islands) ;
SOUTHEPAEF (2012, Cook Islands) ;
RATSTOR (2011, Gibraltar) ;
FORUM FIJI 2 (2010, Gibraltar)
FORUM FIJI II (2010)
IMO number: 9141704
MMSI: 518520000
Name of the ship: PAPA MAU
Vessel type: General cargo vessel
Operating status: Active
Flag: Cook Islands
Gross tonnage: 5025 tons
Deadweight: 5642 tons
Length: 116 m
Breadth: 16 m
Year of build: 1999
Builder: JIANGYANG SHIPYARD YANGZHOU – YANGZHOU, CHINA
Classification society: GERMANISCHER LLOYD
Home port: AVATIU
Owner: MATSON COOK ISLAND – RAROTONGA, COOK ISLANDS
Manager: TRANZ PACIFIC SHIPMANAGEMENT – AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND
The vessel Papa Mau is not new to controversy.
On September 9 last year a crew member was found dead in his cabin on the ship, according to a published report.
The Port Authority of Guam was notified in the morning of Sep 9, 2020, that a crew member aboard the ‘Papa Mau’ was found dead in his cabin while the vessel was en-route to Guam.
It berthed at the Guam Container Terminal at 7.25 a.m that day. The captain followed emergency protocols and notified the U.S. Coast Guard immediately. Guam Customs cleared the vessel upon arrival into Guam, and out of precaution, the Department of Public Health and Social Services conducted a COVID-19 test of the crew member. Operations aboard the vessel were suspended until the crew member was tested for COVID-19.
The port prohibited any operations on the vessel, and the port’s assistant operations manager escorted four nurses on board to swab the crew member.
The sample was taken to Public Health for testing, where it was determined the crew member was negative for COVID-19. The ship’s previous port of call was Palau. The report said the situation did not delay the arrival and operations of any other vessels.
By Alfred Sasako
Newsroom, Honiara
