Fiji Shipping - Safeguarding Shipping Services. What would happen if Goundar stopped sailing?
Safeguarding Shipping Service in Fiji Andrew Irvin, Micronesian Center for Sustainable Transport, andrew.irvin@usp.ac.fj A stir was caused this past weekend when Goundar Shipping’s social media account circulated an announcement it would be immediately ceasing its operations around the country [1] . Though on Monday, Goundar Shipping subsequently announced the social media account was hacked, and it has no intention to discontinue its operations in Fiji [2] , the flurry of responses around the ramifications for domestic shipping of Goundar Shipping’s exit from the sector raises a number of questions worth answering in advance of any domestic shipping industry upheaval of similar scale. As mentioned in the most recent column on COVID-19’s impacts on the economy, domestic shipping is taking a significant hit due to the restrictions on passenger travel beyond Viti Levu. Sector-Wide Challenges Beyond sector-wide challenges, Goundar Shipping has been embroiled in investigations over vi