In the past week, a lot has been said about the new ferry, Aurora V, that was purchased from Seatransport Pty Ltd. The ship has become a point of political contention by the Human Rights Protection Party (HRPP).

The claims by Tuilaepa Sailele Malilegaoi have been slammed by the company that supplied the ship. The company has been quick to defend the ship that is destined to arrive in September. They have countered the claims made by Tuilaepa, saying the ship is safe and insured.

Tuilaepa claimed that the ferry was unsafe to use in Samoa and made further claims that it was not insured. The designer and the chief executive officer of the company responded to claims by Tuilaepa. In an email to the Samoa Observer, Dr. Stuart Ballantyne, Chairman of Seatransport Pty Ltd and chief designer of the Aurora V, described Tuilaepa’s remarks as “nonsense” and warned that such unfounded accusations could open the party to defamation and libel action.

"I am sure that Tuilaepa must have been having a senior moment, uttering such nonsense," said Dr. Ballantyne. “I am the original chief designer of these ROPAX catamaran designs, and we have now sold them to 47 countries, including my native Scotland. The ‘Pentalina’ has run successfully since 2008 between North Scotland and the Orkney Islands through the very rough Pentland Firth, with daily five-metre waves and strong winds.”

“Certainly, the followers of HRPP should be aware that their leader really shouldn’t open the party to defamation and libel lawsuits without checking the facts.”

Kieran Carvill, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Australian-based Seatransport Pty Ltd, the owners of the vessel, issued a detailed response defending the vessel and confirming its insurance and safety certifications. "The Aurora V hull is insured by National Transport Insurance, and its P&I coverage is from The Shipowners Mutual Protection & Indemnity. Both these insurance policies are actual," Carvill said. “Any suggestion that she (Aurora V) is not insured is incorrect and, as such, defamatory by nature. We would reserve the right to legally pursue any paper or person publicly spreading this disinformation."

He noted the vessel was serviced out of the water within the last 12 months and has operated without issue in South Australia, under strict maritime regulations enforced by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA). “The Aurora V has proven its structural resilience by undertaking long delivery voyages. For example, it sailed across the Pacific twice, once from Australia to Venezuela in 2015 and then from the Caribbean to Australia via the Panama Canal in 2020,” Carvill said.

We will know how good the ferry is once it starts operations in Samoa. And even before the ferry can operate locally, adjustments need to be made to the wharves in Mulifanua and Saleleloga. Hopefully, that is configured in the 25 per cent of last year’s budget that the government can use. It would be shameful to have a $13 million ferry and the nation being unable to use it because the automated ramps needed to load and offload vehicles from the ferry at the two ports had not been installed. Let us hope that work on this will start soon.

Surely, the government has thought the purchase through. There is no turning back now; the ferry arrives in over two months.