POLICE will soon confirm a date for the destruction of one of the three Vietnamese impounded blue boats.
Journalists were told yesterday by the Supervising Police Commissioner, Juanita Matanga, that work is progressing well on the plan for the boat destruction.
“We are yet to confirm a date, but it will be very soon,” Ms Matanga said.
Ms Matanga last week revealed that the Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) had offered the task for destroying the remaining blue boat with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources.
She said, they have discussions with them last week and asked them to consider their offer, because police have the capacity for the destruction.
She had also last week clarified that the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resource is responsible for the destruction of the boats and that police only assisted them dispose of the boats.
“With the remaining one, we have offered the task with the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources,” she said last week.
The reason for the offer is because they want to get rid of the blue boat issue.
The Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources had accepted the offer but police are still working on their plan for the destruction.
The blue boat is one of the three boats that were captured early last year at Rennel’s Indispensable reef by the Maritime police for illegal fishing.
Based on a High Court ruling the boats were set for destruction.
Two of the blue boats were burned under controversial compliance processes at a passage in Gela, Central Province, December last year.
The destruction process has been widely condemned by the public, with calls for an investigation into the incident following claims it had violated environmental laws and endangered human lives.
Three Vietnamese captains of the wooden boats are currently serving their sentence at the Rove Correctional Centre while 40 crew members of the boats were repatriated.
By ASSUMPTA BUCHANAN
