Eight months later nothing has been forthcoming about Ro-ro passenger vessel Queen of Melbourne’s services in Fiji.

South Island Shipping Services Company managing director Ulaiasi Buivatu was tight lipped about the whereabouts of the vessel when contacted this week.

Efforts to get comments from the Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji were unsuccessful.

Queen of Melbourne had arrived into Suva on January 19 this year from Geelong in Melbourne after it was bought by SISSC according to reliable sources.

In February Mr Buivatu had confirmed lodging Queen of Melbourne documents with MSAF with the hope that the former Australian registered vessel be the third vessel to its fleet.

SISS owns the MV Liahona I and MV Liahona II – these vessels service the Lau group of islands.

Queen of Melbourne was earmarked to improve transport services for the people of Kadavu.

Mr Buivatu had said in January that they hoped to uplift the standard of ferry services to another new level from the purchase.

Queen of Melbourne has a seating capacity of 400 passengers. The Ro-ro passenger vessel measures 50 meters in length and beam of 11 meters with a gross tonnage of 663.

Daily newspaper Geelong Advertiser in January had wrote that the Queen of Melbourne left to languish for more than 2½ years on Corio Bay, was finally sold to an international buyer.

The article read: “She set sail from Geelong on January 5, 2018, bound for the South Pacific. She is to be used as a passenger ferry servicing islands in Fiji.”