Southern fishermen have stated that fuel is still unavailable from the Kooddoo Fisheries Complex (KFC) and the Mahaa Kalaminjaa vessel.
With the Mahaa Kalaminjaa currently anchored outside Thinadhoo City and KFC's fuel stock depleted, many southern fishermen, especially those from Huvadhoo Atoll, are unable to depart for fishing today due to the lack of fuel. Skippers are extremely disappointed and concerned about this issue. They are now waiting for a day when fuel will be available to go fishing.
"Do the President and MPs not know this is happening? MPs have boats too. They are trying to revive a culture of begging," an angry skipper from L. Atoll said.
Huvadhoo fishermen said that after weighing yesterday's catch to Mahaa Kalaminjaa and requesting to buy fuel, the vessel's crew informed them that they did not have enough fuel for the boat itself and did not know when fuel would be available. Skippers also mentioned that Kooddoo stated they could not confirm a date for fuel availability. Fishermen highlighted this as a major obstacle just as the weather had improved and they had started going out to sea.
"This is very concerning. The government and MIFCO need to resolve this for the fishermen. We are not getting paid for the weighed fish, and now we can't even go fishing. Everything has come to a complete halt. I strongly request everyone to work towards finding a quick solution," a Thinadhoo skipper said.
MIFCO stated that the service is currently interrupted due to a lack of fuel "stock." The company added that efforts are underway to resolve the issue.
"Work is ongoing to procure fuel. Efforts are being made to find a solution," MIFCO said.
While MIFCO has stated they are working to resolve the issue, the State Trading Organization (STO), which controls the fuel, has not commented on the matter. This newspaper has been calling the relevant STO officials since yesterday to get details, but they have not responded.
The fuel supply issue has arisen because MIFCO has been unable to pay previous bills, leading to a large "backlog," which has caused STO to stop issuing fuel to MIFCO on credit.
It has also been some time since MIFCO facilities and vessels stopped issuing fuel to fishermen on credit. MIFCO previously stated that fuel could not be issued because STO is currently controlling the fuel supply. Furthermore, MIFCO has previously mentioned that the company is not currently in a position to provide fuel to fishermen on credit.
