195 Mph Winds Hit American Samoa ff

Two empty cargo containers weighing four tons each were blown over like cardboard boxes on the Fagatogo wharf, in American Samoa, by the ferocious winds of Tropical Cyclone Heta last week.

In an exclusive interview with Harbor Master Captain Silila Patane, he revealed that the 20 feet by 8 feet containers had been stacked four high.”They never should have been stacked that high,” the harbor master stated. “The containers with cargo inside should have been stacked two high at the most and the empty containers should have been all on the ground.”

He went on to state that if Heta, which had wind speeds of 180 miles per hour at its core gusting up to 195 miles per hour had passed closer, many more containers would have been thrown around and the lives of wharf workers would have been in danger. “The first container was blown over at about 4:40am Monday morning and nearly hit one of the ships moored at the dock,” he recounted.

Captain Patane revealed that he had to send one Russian cargo ship, the Frio Nikolayev out to ride out the cyclone in open seas. He explained that the decision to dock inside a harbor or not during a hurricane is left to the discretion of any vessel.

Initially the cargo vessel was docked at Star Kist Samoa (SKS) but officials from the local canneries wanted to move that particular vessel so one of their Purse Seiner vessels could dock and off load their fish cargo, to prevent that they were hit by the hurricane in open seas with their high value tuna cargo on board.

According to Chief Petty Officer Orth, it was then that the harbor master, the USCG, and the captain of the vessel in question agreed that it would be in the best interest of the vessel to depart American Samoa waters and ride out to sea, out of the way of the incoming tropical cyclone.

Chief Petty Officer Orth informed Samoa News that the vessel sailed away in the northeast direction and when he made contact with the vessel Monday morning, the ship and the crewmembers were reportedly unharmed.

Compared to cyclones Ofa and Val, the harbor master stated that Heta was less violent in terms of velocity and rain but the danger was very real.

”Anyone of my workers could have been hurt when those containers fell over not to mention if it had hit the ship,” he pointed out. The harbor master also stressed the need for improvements in some areas in case of future cyclones. “Owners of ocean-going vessels no matter what kind and size should be better prepared and safety regulations should be strictly adhered to,” Captain Patane stated. “Local stevedoring companies should also be more responsible in the moving and stacking of cargo containers on the wharf. The other most serious need we have is for a government plan to improve our services. We need a standby generator to service the whole wharf. It was dark when the power failed early Monday morning when Heta's damaging winds peaked and we had to use flash lights until ASPA managed to turn the lights back on.”

The harbor master commented that it was one issue among many which he will forward to government in an effort to improve Port Authority services.