The fishing vessels that survived a fire incident at the Salelologa Wharf in Savaii will be on “forced sale” in January next year with legal proceedings pending in the Supreme Court. 

This was confirmed in a “Notice of Forced Sale of Sea Vessels” circulated by the Samoa Ports Authority (SPA) inviting expressions of interest for the twelfth purse seiner. 

The seized vessels were berthed at the Salelologa Wharf when one of the purse seiners caught fire and spread to two other vessels last week. 

According to the Samoa Ports Authority, the sale of the Vanuatu-flagged sea vessels is subject to a forced sale on Wednesday 8 January 2025 or so soon thereafter as the necessary arrangements may be settled and made binding. 

“The vessels are subject to a maritime lien held by the Samoa Ports Authority," read the notice. 

“The factual circumstances giving rise to the said lien have been formally pleaded in the Samoa Supreme Court, in a civil action that has commenced against Apia Deep Sea Fishing Limited the charterer of the vessels.” 

In a previous statement from SPA, the vessels belonged to the Apia Deep Sea Fishing Limited company and are now under the responsibility of the authority following the termination of the company’s lease on the Matautu International Port in July 2024. 

The ADSF’s abandoned vessels were berthed at the Matautu Wharf and were transferred to domestic ports at Satitoa Aleipata, Mulifanua and Salelologa for berthing in preparations for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in October.

An investigation into the vessels that caught fire in Salelologa suspected arson as the cause of the incident said the Commissioner of Fire and Emergency Services Authority (FESA), Tanuavasa Petone Mauga. A 13-year-old was taken in for questioning connected to the incident and a police investigation is still underway. 

In January this year, one of the fishing vessels that belonged to ADSF was swept to the shoreline by strong currents and ran aground in front of Vaisigano and eventually capsized. It was dismantled and taken to the landfill.