Close to a hundred passengers on a Lady Naomi voyage from American Samoa to Samoa were stuck on the ferry for almost 20 hours.The ferry arrived from Pago at midnight on Friday (Samoa time) but the majority of passengers did not get off the boat until well past midday Saturday.Local authorities had to use a small boat to transfer the passengers to the Samoa Ports Authority’s Marina where they were cleared by Immigration and allowed to go home.The delay was caused by unprecedented high swells,which made it unsafe for the ferry to dock. At the height of the rough seas, the authorities had to move all the ships anchored at the wharf for safety.The high-swells also caused widespread damage to road infrastructure throughout the country. At nearby Vaiala for example, rocks and debris were dumped on the road at an area that had already been badly affected by coastal erosion.Similar incidents were reported from throughout Samoa.According to the Assistant Chief Executive Officer of the Meteorology Division of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (M.N.R.E), Mulipola Ausetalia Titimaea, the rough seas was the result of a tropical cyclone developing near Tahiti.“We issued a swell advisory on Wednesday,” he said. “This is typical of this time of the year where we have these swells as a result of systems developing and tropical cyclones.”Tina Tupuola, of Vaitele-fou, was on the ferry with her child.“We were on the boat for nearly a whole day, about twenty hours,” she said. “It was quite scary but I was more worried about my child.”Mrs. Tupuola said the crew attempted several times to berth but the high swells made it impossible.“I couldn’t wait to get on dry land,” she said. “On the boat, you could hear people just praying. Apart from the obvious look of concern, the atmosphere was very calm.”Another passenger, Sene Vaosea, said the delay was disappointing but there was nothing anybody could have done about it.“The crew tried their best,” she said. “The water was so high that it covered the wharf’s concrete surface. The crew had to make a decision and I’m glad they put the lives of passengers first.”