Mum tells of 'harrowing' voyage on ferry that later sank in Vanuatu

Kat Finnerty thought she had conquered the most dangerous part of her trip after successfully climbing Manaro Voui — an active volcano on the northern Vanuatu island of Ambae in 2024.

But it turned out the most frightening experience was still to come.

"There were no seats available on the small plane back to Santo, so my daughter and I hitched a ride on the MV Matui," she said.

What should have been a "relatively short" trip on the inter-island ferry to the nearest big island soon became a nightmare, as darkness brought rough seas and huge swells.

The ferry, which she said looked more like an "old fishing trawler", pitched violently back and forth.

Ms Finnerty was pinned to the floor while her daughter was violently seasick.

But that was the least of her worries during the "harrowing" 12-hour ordeal.

"I remember looking behind us and seeing a wall of water,"

the Australian resident said.

"I genuinely remember thinking this time I've pushed it too far."

The ferry finally arrived in Santo after midnight, six hours behind schedule.

Last week, it never arrived at its destination port in Ambae at all.

On Friday, the MV Matui sunk in bad weather while carrying an estimated 55 passengers and crew.

Two people have since been confirmed dead, 14 have been rescued while 39 others remain missing.

According to local media, a criminal complaint has been brought against the captain and management team of the vessel, Tui Shipping, for allegedly evading inspectors and carrying more passengers than authorised.

The ABC has contacted Tui Shipping for comment.

The Vanuatu government is meanwhile under fire over its response to the disaster, as families of those missing continue to await news of their loved ones.

A desperate wait

Micheline Kaltapau is among those desperately seeking answers.

Her husband, Beru Kaltapau, was on the MV Matui the morning of the accident and was scheduled to arrive in Ambae around 10am.

When he didn't arrive, she waited more than 24 hours before she received news of his disappearance.

"We got the information from a friend in Port Vila who saw it on Facebook — [news about] a young man who drifted ashore," she said.

Mrs Kaltapau is praying her husband was able to swim to one of the many uninhabited islands around Santo.

"I believe some of the passengers might have drifted ashore to some of those islands but I don't know if those rescuers went to those islands to look or not," she said.

Mark Turnbull, who runs the flying doctor service in Vanuatu's northern islands, was among the first rescuers to respond on Saturday — about 24 hours after the boat sank.

He said he located several survivors from his plane, some who were grouped together in the water and others who had washed up on a remote island.

"There were five who went to shore together and one of them died," he said.

"Three were rescued and one is still missing on that island."

On another island, he said life jackets had washed up but nothing else.

Dr Turnbull said there was also no trace of the vessel, indicating some of the victims may have gone down with it.

He said he was able to drop bottles of water to the survivors he did find and lodge their GPS coordinates so they could be picked up.

But he said he believed the delay of the search and rescue operation explained why only 14 people have so far been rescued.

"It wasn't initiated by the government so much, it was more initiated by individuals … all working together," he said.

The blame game

In a statement last Sunday, the Vanuatu government acknowledged the incident with "deep sadness", saying it appeared to have been caused by strong winds and marine warnings "not being heeded".

Prime Minister Jotham Napat also conceded the government's search and rescue capabilities needed to be improved and properly resourced after its response, well over 24 hours after the disaster, drew condemnation on social media.

He has since taken control of the agency responsible for maritime safety, the Vanuatu Maritime Saftey Authority.

"If we had a well-functioning SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) we would have probably saved more lives," a Vanuatu government spokesperson told the ABC.

Experts say the disaster is not a one off.

Neil Baird, a maritime researcher who has written extensively on marine safety and transport in the Pacific Islands, said Pacific nations have among the highest rates of ferry fatalities in the world per capita.

"They allow vessels to operate that shouldn't be operating," he said.

Dr Baird said the MV Matui exemplified the problem, given it was a prawn trawler being used as a ferry and appeared to be decades old.

He said the disaster should be a "wake-up call" for Australia and other donor countries to rethink how they support ferry safety in the Pacific.

"I think Australia could help because we could give them decent ferries and train their crews properly, and those are probably the two most important factors," he said.

Fellow Pacific maritime shipping expert Peter Nuttall went a step further, saying much of the money Australia has allocated to the Pacific maritime space has been poorly spent.

"We could have built 40 to 60 safe, brand new, low-carbon ferries for the same budget as we've spent on 20-something patrol boats, several which have already been scrapped,"

Dr Nuttall said.

The Australian government responded to the criticism by saying Canberra was a committed partner for the Pacific and provided extensive support in the maritime space.

"This includes investment in infrastructure, maritime safety standards, search and rescue capability, weather monitoring, maritime domain awareness, addressing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, maritime training and the Guardian-class Patrol Boat program," a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said.