SUVA – Two truck drivers say they are lucky to be alive after they were rescued from the cargo ship MV Suilven as it sank while coming into Suva Harbour on Wednesday.

The ship was carrying 27 crew members and four passengers who were truck drivers.

Abdul Salim, 44, and Sunil Nair, 44, were in the cabs of their trucks that went down with the 1980-tonne roll-on, roll-off cargo ship.

Nair said after the rescue: “I was sleeping when the other drivers ran into my cabin and woke me up because something was wrong.

“I was shocked, scared and everything else was running through my head. I grabbed a life jacket and listened to the instructions given by the crew.”

He said they were told to keep calm before they were told to get into a smaller boat that had come for their rescue.

“Ten minutes after we got into the rescue boat, the ship sank completely. I was used to rough seas, but nothing like what happened. I don’t know what to say right now, I’m just so lucky to be able to live again and see my family again.”

The other rescued driver Salim was still shocked.

“I was just thinking about my family and my children when the incident happened out at sea. We are lucky to be saved and we were also very lucky that it happened at a place where rescue was quick,” he said.

Fuga Luse, 26, a cook on the ship, said she was also lucky to be alive as well. This was a huge lesson for her, she said.

“The only thing that I have saved is my mobile phone so I could call home and the clothes I’m wearing.”

A crew member from a nearby vessel that observed the sinking, MV Liahona, was among the first to reach the sinking ship.

Sireli Qasenivalu said went in an outboard to offer help.

“We were the first rescuers to reach the ship. We could not go nearer as it was dangerous.”

He said when they reached the ship they saw the containers and lorries had shifted to one side as the boat started to tilt.

A Navy boat was also at the scene.

Police confirmed that 31 people were on board the Suilven, 27 of whom were crew members and the four truck drivers. There were no casualties reported.

It is understood that the ship was on its way back from Levuka when the incident happened. The ship reportedly had 27 containers and four trucks on board.

Maritime Safety Authority oil spill equipment was on standby. Shipping traffic was advised to proceed with caution when navigating within the vicinity of the entrance to Suva Harbour and to be on the lookout for any floating containers.

“Initial reports from the owners, Venu Shipping, indicated that the container cargo lashing failure contributed to the listing of the ship. All crew and passengers were safely evacuated on board the tug Tanunda,” Infrastructure and Transport Ministry permanent secretary Francis Kean said.

Kean confirmed that the Tanunda, under charter to Fiji Ports Corporation Ltd was first to respond to the scene along with their pilot boat Murimai.

Fiji Navy Commander John Fox said they co-ordinated with FPCL and had given them the operation to take charge of.

The MV Suilven is owned by Ben Naidu of Venu Shipping.

Naidu confirmed that the ship which used to carry passengers was now a cargo boat.

MV Suilven was built in 1974. It operated as a ferry in Scotland for 21 years, before operating between New Zealand’s North and South Islands.

It was then brought to Fiji by Bligh Water Shipping in 2004. Naidu’s Venu Shipping bought it in 2012. - PNC sources