It was around 9pm on Friday that the inter-island ferry Lady Samoa finally departed for Apia, after it was cleared by the US Coast Guard to leave port.
But some of the passengers who had waited for more than 24 hours for the trip could not leave. 160 travelers had been booked to leave on the return trip to Apia on Thursday but a Coast Guard inspection for renewal of the ferry’s Certificate of Compliance found several deficiencies. Only 100 passengers were allowed to travel Friday night.
Coast Guard Lt. Cody Baggett said after a follow up inspection of the vessel on Friday morning, the Coast Guard allowed the ferry to leave with a reduced number of passengers and on condition that when it returns to Pago Pago it will undergo another inspection.
He said the engine on one of the life boats that was not operable had been fixed, however, there were still many other deficiencies relating to passenger safety that needed to be addressed.
A spokesperson for local agents of the Lady Samoa, Peter Reid Agency said Coast Guard approval for the vessel to leave was received around 4pm Friday, and the vessel finally set sail at 9 that night.
