Apia gets a petrol station for its growing fishing fleet

Apia (Samoa Observer/PINA Nius Online 2000) – The Samoan government’s endless efforts to develop the fishing industry continued when the Fisheries Department unveiled its new $90,000 petrol station for fishing boats.

The new venture, opened by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Meteorology, Mafasolia Papu Vaai, was the result of joint efforts between the government and members of the fishing community. At a relatively low cost of $90,000 it is hoped that the new petrol station will speed up the process of obtaining petrol for over a 100 fishing boats operating in Apia.

The fishing industry is one of the major contributors to Samoa’s economy, which is on upward curve at the moment. This, coupled with increasing demand for petrol from the public, led the Fisheries Department to deem it appropriate to build a new petrol station, in order to capitalize on the benefits offered by the fishing industry.

This achievement has not been an easy task for the department, Mafasolia said. It is the culmination of many years of hard work by all the parties involved. There were several hurdles to overcome for a period of two year this is why I refer to this day as the climax to a long running story in the development of fisheries in our nations of Samoa. Mafasolia was glad that fishermen will no longer have to travel to the Mobil station to attain their petrol.

In the future though, he said the Fisheries Department would be seeking assistance from the Police Department to make sure that there are no petrol containers left in the wharf area. This will be done to reduce the risk of sea contamination, fire and explosions.

The history of establishing the petrol station dates back to the late 1980s. The first request for a petrol pump was made in 1987. This request was not acted upon because there was a lack of demand at that time.

However in 1998 a further request was submitted, as there had been an increase in the number of fishing boats in Samoa. This time, the request was quickly dealt with by the Fisheries Department, who proceeded to join forces with Mobil Oil Samoa in order to implement the project. Now, with the availability of petrol on the wharf, one fisherman described the new station as a dream come true.

He told the Samoa Observer that such a station was needed to save time and reduce the risk of private trucks and pick-ups transporting petrol around town. He wondered however, if the station was going to charge the same amount per liter as normal petrol stations.