Strong Current & High Waves Delays Transfer of Manawanui Fuel to Port

By Lagi Keresoma/

Apia, SAMOA – 08 January 2025 – Bad weather, strong current and high waves contributed to the delay in transferring diesel fuel from the Manawanui vessel to the storage tanks at the Apia wharf.

Work on extracting diesel fuel from the sunken vessel and transferring to storage tanks started this week, however, bad weather has delayed the work.

The Chief Executive Officer of the Samoa Ports Authority, So’oalo Kuresa So’oalo said the barge with fuel now docks further out to sea to await better weather conditions.

Samoa port closed
The bad weather has resulted in the temporary closure of the Samoa Port to all ships.

Sooalo said it is the combination of the high waves, strong current and the flow of water from nearby Vaisigano river warrants the Ports Authority to take precautionary measures.

He said there are ships expected to arrive in Apia this week and are aware of the weather conditions in Samoa.

A public notice has been issued advising on the temporary closure of the port.

“The Samoa Port Authority (SPA) continues to monitor closely the extreme effect of weather on our Port and wishes to advise all its stakeholders, the port users and the general public that the port is still closed temporarily for any vessel operation until further notices,” states the notice.

The notice further says that the cargo area and office are still open for normal business.

The weather forecast states heavy rainfall and windy conditions to continue throughout the week.