Cooks charter military ship

SHIPPING services to the isolated northern islands of the Cooks group are to be improved with the charter for six months of a Fiji ves sel, the Kaunitoni. Most boats operating out of Rarotonga service the southern islands, where the greatest distance is less than 300 km, compared with more than 1100 km to the northern island.

Some of the farther islands do not have airstrips, and the only method of trans

port to the capital is a five-day boat trip.

Smaller boats have been used as a stopgap in recent months, but they are not able to carry the cargoes necessary to keep the outer islands well supplied.

There have been reports that some is lands have been running low on diesel for their power generators, and of petrol.

Local shipping services were also badly affected by the withdrawal of Silk and

Boyd, a small shipping operation, from the Cook Islands after one of its boats struck a reef. Various Fiji vessels have been chartered on short-term loans.

The Kaunitoni should bring much needed relief to the more distant islands, such as Pukapuka and Manihiki. It can carry 250 tonnes of cargo, 30 passengers in berths and another 100 under cover on its decks. The ship is run in Fiji by the Fiji Military Forces Auxiliary Unit.D