Samoa Shipping Corporation

The corporation was initially funded by overseas aid. In 1974 the New Zealand government provided NZ$450,000 for the construction of a roll-on/roll-off ferry terminal at Mulifanua.^[5] In 1977 the Australian government provided a ferry, the MV Queen Salamasina.^[6] The company was unprofitable for its first twenty years, and gained a reputation for inefficiency. In 1985 it bought a "luxury boat", only to sell it back to the original owners just two years later for less than it had paid for it.^[7] It finally started delivering dividends to the government in the late 1990's.^[8] In 2001 it expanded its fleet, adding the Samoa Express on the Apia - Tokelau route.^[9]

In 2008 the company constructed a wharf and slipway at Satitoa in Aleipata to reduce travel time to American Samoa and allow vessels to be maintained locally.^[10] The new terminal was unpopular with exporters,^[11] and services were shifted back to Apia after the Lady Naomi was damaged due to the dock not being deep enough.^[12]

In 2011 it opened its engineering facility in Apia.^[13] In 2012 it began providing bimonthly services to the Northern Cook Islands and to Tokelau.^[14]

In 2019 - 2020 the company made a profit of $332,000, which was reduced due to the 2019 Samoa measles outbreak.^[15]

Samoa Shipping currently operates five vessels:^[1]: 13

• MV Lady Naomi (since 1999)^[16]
• MV Lady Samoa III (since 2010)^[17]
• MV Fotu o Samoa II
• MV Fasefulu (since 2015)^[18]
• MV Samoa Express II (since 2021)^[19]

• MV Limulimutau
• MV Queen Salamasina (1977—1999)
• MV Puleono (1978—?)
• MV Salafai
• MV Tausala Samoa
• MV Lady Samoa (1985—1987)
• MV Fotu o Samoa
• MV Lady Samoa II
• MV Pacifica Express (ex-MV Tokelau) (2013—2022)^[20][21]
• MV Samoa Express (2001—2021)