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Plans afoot to ‘deep six’ Samoa’s MV Lady Naomi

MV LADY NAOMI
reporters@samoanews.com

Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — The MV Lady Naomi vessel which used to sail to American Samoa and the Cook Islands from Samoa is likely to be sunk in the deep.

The vessel was built in 1998 and of late continuous mechanical and structural problems have caused the vessel owned by Samoa Shipping Corporation to be out of service.

The Samoa Observer revealed that the government will now dispose and sink the roll-on-roll-off passenger ferry in the deep further from Apia.

Its current status is described to be 'out of survey'.

This comes following major damages it sustained earlier this year to its rails, and bollards, as well as dents on its body from colliding against the wharf due to strong ocean currents.

The Samoa Ports Authority’s Saula- 60 tug boat at the time was out on the reef assisting with the Lady Naomi, holding the boat steady through ropes so it would not drift away or capsize.

The vessel’s condition has continued to deteriorate, which has resulted in costly repair and maintenance bills paid by the Corporation to comply with international maritime safety requirements.

According to the Samoa Ports Authority 2017 Financial Report, passenger numbers between Samoa and American Samoa have continued to increase.

The aging vessel was succeeded by the new $66.74 million passenger vessel, the MV Lady Naomi 60, launched two years ago.

(‘Deep six’ means to put something away forever, to "chuck" it, throw it away permanently. It comes from nautical slang, but the origins are murky. It may have been a reference to the usual depth of a grave, about six feet deep, but how that got into nautical slang is a mystery.)