1 Million Litres Of Water From Fiji To Assist Tuvalu Drought

Friday 4th November 2011

Suva based business responds to the needs of pacific neighbours by transporting over 1 million litres of drinking water to Funafuti, Tuvalu.

The first portion of just over 1 million litres of drinking water has been successfully delivered to drought stricken Tuvalu, by Suva based company Senlima; and the second load is set to sail early next week. The trips were made possible thanks to joint New Zealand and Australian aid funding and a quick response from Senlima operators.

Veteran pacific vessel Komaiwai II of Fiji, arrives back in Suva today after delivering her first load of 450,000 litres of water to the nation’s main island Funafuti on Monday.

Originally a bulk carrier, Komaiwai II received a make over by the Senlima team and was transformed into a fully functioning water tanker in less than a week to meet the deadline of the first trip. Departing last Thursday and arriving safely in Tuvalu early hours of Monday morning, Komaiwai II carried 450,000 litres of water across the Pacific.

While small bouts of rain and a relief effort from the international community has provided much needed relief, it is expected that the dry period will continue until early next year and the people of Tuvalu are still having to ration water carefully.

Manned by a full Fijian crew, some with Tuvalu links, Komaiwai II, which means ‘to come from the sea’ will embark on her second journey early next week with 630,000 litres of water on board.

Senlima’s Suva based Managing Director Gerald Douglas says the initial load of 450,000 litres is enough to last at least four days based on the current ration allocation.

“Our first delivery will help to supplement the water being produced by the desalination units and the second load of 630,000 litres will provide another six days of backup supply,” says Douglas.

“We can only hope that in this time, the skies open up and give the people of Tuvalu what they need. While Tuvalu has received some much-needed rain in recent days the downpour was not enough to break the drought. It has rained and that will certainly help, but it will not fix the problem – there is a long road ahead for the people of Tuvalu,” says Douglas.

While delivering water is Senlima’s immediate objective, Mr Douglas says long term solutions are being explored. The Senlima team has eagerly awaited the arrival of the Komaiwai II, determined for a speedy reload so they can send her on her way again.

As the people of Tuvalu will continue to look to the sky for their water, they can be rest assured that their pacific neighbours will come to their aid from across the ocean thanks to the support of New Zealand and Australian aid programmes.

***About Selima

Senlima is a Fiji based team of logistic legends with a firm understanding of what it takes to do business in the Pacific. Our in-depth understanding of ‘the Pacific way’ enables us to create realistic and achievable solutions in a place that is geographically and economically challenged. We know what the challenges are, which has enabled us to learn how to remedy them. We make what is normally hard in the Pacific, easy.

Fiji has a lot of resources, but they can be hard to access. As the hub of Pacific trade and commerce, Suva can be the place to get everything you need – if you can find it!

We can…and we get the job done.

We have access to an established network of skilled and specialized human resource; a collection of vessels and vehicles-variety of ships/barges; knowledge and leading experience in the area of telecommunications.

We have quick access to natural resources and core supplies such as water, aggregates, fuel, food and hardware.

We have easy access to reliable and professional airline services, machinery haulage and earth moving services, and mechanical engineering expertise.

As expert pacific transporters and logistical disaster response specialists we are good at delivering complex Pacific specific solutions.

We do it, because we can and we get the job done.

ENDS

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