Lae’s Voco Point is one of the city’s major boat stops for vessels coming from some of the remote places along Morobe’s coastline.
A few meters away from clusters of boats, the ships that once used to service some of the remote places along Morobe's coastline have been grounded for the past four weeks because the company, Lutheran Shipping, owes K10 million to its creditors.
Those who once benefited from the shipping services say, their vital lifeline has been cut off.
The alternative means for the people to get to some of Morobe’s outer islands is by boat.
“We are facing a serious problem ferrying our store goods to the villages… when Lutheran Shipping came to a halt, we were badly affected”, says a passenger.
Most of the skippers of the boats are becoming more conscious about the capacity of the cargo there are to be ferried.
“I make sure that my boat operators don't exceed the normal boat capacity”, said Amos Buieba, a boat owner.
Those that would be travelling far to Siassi and Fichaffen, are not only engaging in an expensive exercise, but in bad weather, a potentially dangerous one as well.
Boat owners say, they are most likely to change the boat fare, and that decision hinges on fuel prices.
They say if fuel prices are to go up, they too, will have to increase their boat fares.
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