BY JOHN HOUANIHAU
The Solomon Islands Maritime Authority (SIMA) has successfully concluded its investigation into the incident that involved a crew that fell from the Pelican Express last month.
A crew member from the Pelican Express II fell into the sea during a trip from Honiara to Auki on June 7 when the ship passed between Gela and Alite Reef. The vessel departed Honiara at 4pm.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with this paper on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, SIMA Director, Thierry Nervale said the crew is still missing.
“The body has not been found for the information we have, and so for us, he is still missing at sea,” said Nervale.
Following the investigation, Mr Nervale said that SIMA administration formulated a series of recommendations to the shipping company.
“The investigation is an administrative investigation that aims to understand the cause of the accidents. We found that the crew member went into an area that was exposed to weather conditions. The waves were going over the poop deck, and so yeah, he exposed himself, and then he’d been washed off,” he said.
He said that the recommendation could apply to any vessel.
“It’s more than recommendations because we verify that they implement them. I request them to put in place a safety management system and train their crew members to apply procedures,” he said.
He said that he also talked to the deceased’s family regarding the investigation.
“Now we’ll move into the phase where we will monitor the shipping company in implementing the recommendations. Make sure that everything is in place,” he said.
He said that the investigation is to improve the safety management of vessels and not to cancel the shipping company’s business licence.
“When you are on board a vessel, you sit at a place that is safe, designated by the crew for you to stay. You don’t expose yourself when the vessel is already at full capacity.
“Going at sea, there is always risk because of the weather, because of the sea. Anything can happen. This instruction is the same for the crew members. The crew members need to be at their duty stations. Where it’s allocated to them to do their job. If they are at rest during the voyage, they should be at a rest station. That is designated and is safe and not just walking around,” said the SIMA Director.
For feedback, contact:[email protected]
