Transportation Briefs
Transportation Briefs
Samoa
The Samoa Government is expecting delivery of a new container vessel this summer, according to the government’s Office of Ministry of Transportation and the Samoa Shipping Corporation (SSC). The Forum Samoa II is being built at a shipyard in Chengxi, China. It is scheduled to arrive in Samoa by early July, complete with a Samoan crew that will be trained in China. Samoa Minister of Transportation Hans Joe Keil represented the Samoa government at the launch last November. The Samoa government contributed approximately $1.5 million toward the vessel, while the balance is reportedly provided to Samoa as a grant from China.
Hawaiian Airlines has severed its interline agreement with Polynesian Airlines that allowed exchange of ticketed passengers and cargo, according to Polynesian Airline’s Pacific Islands manager, Toleafoa John Nickel. "My understanding is that the contract agreement has expired," said Hawaiian spokesperson Keoni Wagner. "But it has also not been renewed at this point." According to Toleafoa, Hawaiian Airlines started declining Polynesian Air tickets in late September or early October of last year. It was about the same time that Polynesian announced its purchase of a new B-737/800 aircraft for direct flights from Apia to both Honolulu and Sydney.
Polynesian was also operating a connecting flight into American Samoa for passengers flying to and from Honolulu via Hawaiian. Polynesian terminated the connecting flight after its tickets weren’t accepted, forcing passengers from or to Samoa to travel on the weekly Air New Zealand flight or to overnight in Pago Pago for a next day flight to Apia. Polynesian said that the two flights a week by Hawaiian Airlines made it profitable for the Samoa government owned-airline to operate connecting flights.
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American Samoa
The American Samoa Government’s Department of Port Administration has produced a 10-year master plan that features 14 major construction and renovation projects for the Pago Pago Harbor and vicinity estimated to cost $32 million. The U.S. Interior Department is to fund 25 percent of the costs. The Port Administration is working with the local government’s Department of Commerce to secure funds from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
The construction of a container yard for the two local canneries is the biggest of the 14 projects, with an estimated price tag of $9.5 million. The container yard, to be constructed next to COS Samoa Packing will reduce hauling of containers to and from Samoa Packing and StarKist Samoa, the two canneries. Other projects include improvements of storm drainage at the current container yard and port area, maintenance dredging to provide safe mooring for container ships, a new floating marina, a boat repair area for small boats, and construction of a computerized gatehouse to monitor vehicles entering the port.
—Fili Sagapolutele
