Police CID looking into registration of foreign ships in Fiji

The Police Criminal Investigations Department has confirmed that they are now investigating the process involved in the registration of a foreign ship in Fiji.

This is after the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji filed a report with Police about the registration of ships in Fiji through the use of falsified documents.

Director CID Semesi Bokadi says they are still gathering information and no has been questioned yet.

The Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji has also confirmed that other countries in the region have been notified about the investigation.

CEO John Tunidau says Fiji does not have an open registry and as such foreign ships claiming Fiji is their Flag state are doing so fraudulently.

An open registry is a practice where foreign ship owners register their ship in another state.