The final chapter for Fiji Princess arrived in the manner mariners fear most: driven hard onto coral in the dark, taking on water, with no way back.
It happened in the early hours of 4 April, off Monuriki Island, a small uninhabited outcrop in Fiji's Mamanuca group sitting roughly 45 kilometres west of Nadi. The Blue Lagoon Cruises vessel, 55 metres in length, had been riding at anchor when a squall swept through fast enough to drag her onto the reef before the crew could do anything about it. By the time daylight arrived she was firmly aground, flooding below decks, her engines finished.
All 61 people on board got off safely. The 30 passengers were transferred to Port Denarau after a fast ferry came alongside at first light, while the majority of the 31 crew followed shortly afterwards. A small number stayed on board to assist with the early salvage assessment. There were no injuries.
What came next was a race to protect the reef. Fiji Princess had approximately 23,000 litres of diesel aboard, and the coral beneath her hull forms part of one of Fiji's most dived marine environments. Australian salvors reached the site by 5 April and within a day had pumped every litre of pumpable fuel clear of the vessel. The surrounding reef was spared the worst, at least for the time being.
Blue Lagoon Cruises said conditions at anchor had been calm before the squall hit. That account sat uneasily alongside a nationwide heavy rain alert already in force that morning, with Category 3 Tropical Cyclone Vaianu bearing down on the western islands at the time. The Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji has since opened a formal investigation into the grounding.
After nearly two weeks of damage and salvage assessments, Blue Lagoon confirmed Fiji Princess would not sail again. The vessel had spent 22 years working the Mamanuca and Yasawa runs. Getting her off the reef is expected to take somewhere between one and three months.
Passengers hoping to recover the cost of cancelled bookings found their options narrow. Blue Lagoon's contract includes a Force Majeure clause that rules out cash refunds, offering a transfer to a future departure instead. The contract falls under Fijian law.
The company has been working these waters for over 75 years. Its newest vessel, MV Yasawa Princess II, configured for 44 passengers across 22 cabins, had already been scheduled for her maiden voyage on 27 April and had been in the water before the grounding took place.
Monuriki, the island closest to where Fiji Princess came to rest, is where Cast Away was filmed, the story of a man stranded alone for years on an uninhabited island. Everyone aboard Fiji Princess was home within hours of the grounding. The ship was not.
