BLUE boats destruction cost the government $400,000, according to information revealed during the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) meeting on Tuesday.
Permanent Secretary (PS) for Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources (MFMR) Dr Christian Ramofafia said the lowest bidder for the destruction of the boats is $400,000, thus government opted for the cheapest bidder to dispose the blue boats.
He told PAC that the initial bidder was Sasape Marina but it is $1.8 million, which is too costly, thus they select Iona Firi, from Langa Langa Lagoon to destroy the boats.
In addition, Director of Fisheries, Mr. Edward Honiwala said the deal to destroy the boats was made according to the High Court decision, because the boats failed to meet the seaworthiness standard, as reported by Solomon Islands Maritime Safety Administration (SIMSA).
The Fisheries Director further revealed that the engines of the boats were Chinese made, which cost around SBD$300,000.
Thus, he said the deal with the contractor to destroy the boat is $400,000 according to their quotation.
So the costs for destroying the Vietnamese boats will take into account the interest of the contracted company to purchase the boats engine for $300,000, therefore government will only pay $100,000 for the cost of disposing the boats.
Meanwhile, PS said the destructions of the boats comes with a cost due to the environmental laws and conventions we signed with the international community to protect the environment.
Hence, we won’t easily sink those boats anywhere because it will go against the environmental laws, in this case we have to contract a private company to do proper disposal.
The three blue boats were captured by Maritime Police in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) early this year.
The boats were originally from one company in Vietnam, in South East Asia.
There were 40 crew members on board the three blue boats but were deported to their home country, except for three captains who are serving four years in Rove prison.
By AATAI JOHN
