There’ll be no sailing of the Lady Naomi today.
Samoa Shipping Services had planned on bringing and taking passengers on the vessel on this trip, however the new emergency declaration for COVID-19, which went into effect on Monday, specified that travelers had to register on TalofaPass, 5 days before their departure.
Local agents, like Polynesia Shipping, said that there wasn’t enough time to meet this requirement in time for today’s sailing. So the trip was cancelled.
Operations Manager for Polynesia Shipping, Kana Siafuafu, acknowledged that the requirement would be a hardship to the people that travel on the Lady Naomi but is hopeful that assistance will be provided through a help desk in Apia for TalofaPass.
Last week the COVID-19 Task Force approved the Lady Naomi to carry passengers with a 60 passenger limit, both, coming and going. The vessel can carry up to 210 passengers.
