Samoa to American Samoa Ferry

The American Samoa Govt ferry got stranded

When the ship landed in Ofu a fortnight ago, it took in sea power, which caused damage to the ferry's magnet. Muliagatele Gus Godinet, the current manager of the harbour authority, says that parts were shipped to Ofu on the new Manu'atele ferry. Manu'atele will travel to Manu'a every weekend, while MV Sili will remain earthed.

Widbey Island Yard Supplies Samoa Ferry Manu'atele - Northwest Yachting

Crossing the South Pacific isles is every sailor's fantasy, although I must confess it will probably just be a fantasy for me." So, when I was given the chance to visit a new ferry that was being constructed on the spot for the American Samoa mission, I thought this might be the next one I could take to these distant isles.

I would have prefered to go over a lake in a boom-cano, of course, but to reach Whidbey Island, where the 140 foot long M/V Manu'atele was done, was not quite as intricate! Luckily, there is a ferry to Whidbey Island that departs every half hours from Mukilteo, just 25 leagues from Northwest Yachting's Ballard offices.

Unfortunately the rain was far away from the tropics and it rained heavily when I reached Langley at the southern end of the isle. Here, Nichols Brothers is launching its recently introduced end equipment and marine test equipment. Unmols manufactures all types of merchant boats up to 300 ft in length, and its ferry fleet ranges from high-speed aluminium CATAMARAN to Washington State Ferry (WSF) autofarib.

Over the last ten years they have constructed the superstructure for five ferryboats, among them the two on the Whidbey Island crossroad. It is a multi-purpose ship specifically developed to substitute the M/V Sili, a 30-year-old rigging service ship sailing between the capitol Pago Pago on the island of Tutuila and the Manu'a Islands.

Following many conversations between the Samoan Goverment officials and the Navy architect in Washington, the max height was set at 140 length and an 8. 5' design was uploaded, with a 38' bar. Manu'atele is one of the few small vessels in the Pacific Northwest that has been constructed under the American flag, carrying travellers and sailing on the open sea to other islands such as Tonga and Fiji.

Marine Pollution (MARPOL) is a pollution prevention agreement that causes all tank exhaust ports, air vent and tubes to be behind an overfill stop along the rear panel of the body. It also functions as a swimming filling stations with a system for measuring the amount of petrol injected onshore.

This 15-ton North Pacificrane is used to lift trucks, palettes and small 10-foot pedestals out of a hover. Manu'atele will cost about $13 million and should start last December with a stopover in Honolulu to refuel from the Pacific Northwest. It is the capitol of American Samoa, 2,400 leagues SW and 14 degreesS.

We will make week-long excursions around Tutuila to visit the northern coastal towns of Afono, Vatia and Fagasa and then cross the open waters to the three Manu'a Isles, which are the tops of a giant extinguished lava that rises from the bottom of the Pacific. They are the only populated area of the United States in the southern hemisphere.

Fourty leagues to the east lies the largest of the Samoan Islands, which today are the sovereign Samoa state. The majority of the people of this area are Polynesians and they have a civilization known as fa'a Samoa (The Samoan Way) and an Indian system of government known as fa'amatai - the most important system at the heart of the organisation of their people.

I was very astonished from a tourist point of perspective that the Lonely Planet travel guide says: "These are among the most beautiful and secluded of the Pacific Islands. Founded in 1975, it was investigated by an internatonal research unit that contributed to the Pacific Ring of Fire.

" There is an undersea volcano in Va'ilulu'u craters, called after the Samoan nafanua. Seismic activity continues on the island and the 2009 Samoa quake and tidal wave killing more than 170 population. This catastrophe and the typhoon threats can keep away the tourist and cruiser, making this small US area one of the least known but most attractive travel locations in the South Pacific - whether you are arriving by sailing or ferry!

The Manu'atele, like any other ship, has its own power and power requirements. It turns out that Samoa's power generation is a history in itself. Most of the island's less than 1,000 inhabitants rely almost exclusively on gasoline engines powered by the gasoline supplied by M/V Sili.

Ta'u, the most easterly of America's islands, is now built on a new solar-powered 1. 4-megawatt micron grid and a 6-egawatt hour accumulator system. That is enough to supply the whole isle with electricity 24 /7, according to the subcontractor Sun City, which was recently taken over by the electrical vehicle grou- ry Tesla.