Vanuatu Ends Search for 37 Missing After Ferry Sinking

Vanuatu has ended the search for 37 people still missing after the passenger ferry MV Matui sank in rough seas, with 39 people now presumed dead in one of the country’s worst recent maritime disasters.

The ferry sank on September 11 while travelling between the islands of Santo and Ambae. According to Lloyd Fikiasi, deputy commissioner of the Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority, 53 people were aboard the vessel. Fourteen survivors and two bodies were recovered, while the remaining 37 people have not been found.

The sea search ended on Thursday after rescue teams failed to make further recoveries.

The decision brings an end to days of uncertainty surrounding the number of people aboard the ferry, the circumstances of its departure and the response after it disappeared.

MV Matui sank during rough weather

The ferry was travelling between Santo, Vanuatu’s largest island, and Ambae when it sank in difficult sea conditions.

Vanuatu’s meteorological service had issued a marine warning for strong winds and high seas on the day the vessel sailed.

Prime Minister Jotham Napat previously said the disaster appeared to have involved strong winds and warnings that were not heeded. He also raised the possibility of negligence, including overloading, but stressed that the circumstances required investigation.

Those comments do not by themselves establish the legal cause of the sinking.

The promised investigation will have to determine how the vessel was loaded, whether it was authorised to carry the people aboard, whether weather warnings were followed and what happened after the ferry encountered difficulties.

The number of people aboard remained unclear

One of the problems that complicated the rescue operation was uncertainty over the passenger manifest.

Earlier reports gave different figures for the number of people aboard the ferry. Officials later established that 53 people were believed to have been on the vessel, although some individuals initially listed as missing were subsequently found not to have travelled on the boat.

The uncertainty made it more difficult for authorities and families to establish how many people were actually missing.

The sinking itself was also not reported for about a day, according to officials cited by AP.

That delay has become an important part of the questions surrounding the disaster.

Only 14 survivors were found

Fourteen people survived the sinking and were recovered during the initial rescue operation.

Two bodies were also recovered.

No further survivors or bodies were found after the weekend, despite continued searches involving maritime authorities and other responders.

With 37 people still unaccounted for when the sea search was terminated, authorities now estimate that 39 people died.

The figure remains described as an estimate because most of those presumed dead have not been recovered.

Authorities file criminal complaints

The maritime disaster has also moved into the legal arena.

Vanuatu’s Maritime Safety Authority has filed criminal complaints involving the owners and management of Tui Shipping and the captain of the Matui over alleged breaches of maritime law.

Local reporting cited by AP said the vessel was not authorised to carry passengers and that inspectors had warned about the loading of people and cargo before the ferry sailed.

The Vanuatu Maritime Safety Authority has reportedly sought the arrest and charging of the vessel’s captain.

According to regional reporting, authorities said the vessel was classified for cargo rather than passenger transport and had not been authorised to operate as a passenger ship.

A criminal complaint, however, is not a finding of guilt.

Any criminal responsibility will depend on the investigation, evidence and subsequent legal proceedings.

Questions over overloading

Overloading has emerged as another major issue.

The Maritime Safety Authority has alleged that the vessel was carrying more people and cargo than permitted.

Regional reporting said the vessel’s load line was below the waterline when it departed, a condition the maritime authority considered dangerous.

Inspectors had reportedly raised concerns about the vessel’s loading before the sinking.

Whether overloading contributed directly to the loss of the vessel remains a matter for investigators to establish.

The same applies to questions about the vessel’s classification, authorisation and compliance with maritime regulations.

Delayed reporting raises further concerns

The sinking was reportedly not reported for roughly 24 hours.

That delay has attracted particular attention because the first hours after a maritime disaster can be critical for finding survivors.

Earlier reporting indicated that some survivors reached land or were located by local communities, while search teams worked to determine where people might have been carried by currents.

Prime Minister Napat has acknowledged concerns about the country’s search-and-rescue capacity.

He has also cancelled a planned trip to the United Nations General Assembly in New York to remain in Vanuatu and respond to the disaster.

Prime minister promises independent investigation

Napat visited survivors and families of those missing on Santo and Ambae on Friday.

He called for calm and promised an independent investigation into the sinking.

The investigation is expected to examine both the circumstances surrounding the ferry’s voyage and the response after the vessel disappeared.

A national memorial service is scheduled for September 27.

The government faces pressure to establish what happened without prejudging the criminal complaints already filed.

A wider maritime safety issue

The tragedy has also renewed attention on maritime safety in Vanuatu and the wider Pacific.

Inter-island vessels are an important part of transportation in island nations such as Vanuatu, where communities are separated by large stretches of ocean and air travel can be limited or expensive.

Experts have warned that the Matui disaster raises wider questions about vessel standards, regulatory enforcement, emergency response and the availability of safe maritime transport in the Pacific.

Those concerns go beyond the individual ferry.

If investigators establish that safety requirements were ignored, authorities will have to determine whether similar weaknesses exist elsewhere in the country’s maritime transport system.

Families left without answers

The decision to end the search means many families will now have to cope without recovering the bodies of their relatives.

The lack of recoveries also means some details about the final moments of the ferry may remain uncertain until investigators piece together accounts from survivors, officials and other evidence.

For the 14 people who survived, their testimony could become important to understanding how the vessel sank and what happened after it went down.

The independent investigation will also have to examine the warning issued before the voyage, the vessel’s loading condition, its authorisation to carry passengers and the delay in reporting the sinking.

What happens next?

The end of the search does not end the investigation.

Vanuatu authorities are now expected to continue examining the ferry’s operation, the actions of its owners and crew, maritime regulatory decisions and the country’s emergency response.

The criminal complaints against Tui Shipping’s owners, management and the vessel’s master will also proceed separately from the independent investigation.

For now, 39 people are presumed dead, 37 remain missing and 14 have survived.

The MV Matui disaster has therefore moved from a search-and-rescue operation into a wider investigation over maritime safety, regulatory compliance and accountability in Vanuatu.