A whale-watching boat carrying passengers has been involved in an accident in Vavaʻu today, raising fresh safety concerns following two other serious boating incidents in Tonga in recent weeks.

Neiafu Town Officer Vava Lapota told Kaniva News that passengers were on board the vessel when the accident occurred, but no loss of life had been reported.

Images from the scene, obtained by Kaniva News, show the stricken vessel partially submerged in choppy waters, with much of the boat sitting low beneath the surface and its canopy tilted into the sea.

Orange-red flotation or safety equipment can be seen around the vessel. Other boats carrying several people are also visible nearby, including one positioned close to the partially submerged vessel, as waves break around the boats.

Details remained limited, including how the accident occurred, how many passengers were aboard, and whether police were called to the scene.

The licensing status of the vessel involved in today’s accident has yet to be confirmed.

The latest incident comes after the Ministry of Tourism repeatedly sought to distinguish licensed whale-watching operators from other boating activities, clarifying that vessels involved in two recent incidents in Tonga were not licensed to conduct whale-watching services.

The Ministry’s clarifications followed concerns that the incidents could be associated with Tonga’s licensed whale-watching industry. One of the vessels was involved in an incident last month while carrying passengers, including Anglican Church members visiting from New Zealand.

One of those vessels was involved in an incident last month while carrying passengers including Anglican Church members visiting from New Zealand.

Tonga’s Ministry of Tourism subsequently said the vessel and operator were not licensed or authorised to conduct whale-watching and swimming activities.

The second incident occurred earlier this month and claimed the life of Vaiola Hospital nurse Siokapesi Hefa after a newly launched boat overturned during an outing.

The latest accident comes just over a year after the whale-watching vessel Tethys capsized south of Muʻamoa in Vavaʻu in August 2025. No casualties were reported in that incident, and the vessel was later towed back to port.

At the time, Neiafu Town Officer Vava Lapota had raised concerns about the need for closer inspection of some vessels operating in the area.

Kaniva News is seeking further information about today’s Vavaʻu accident, including the vessel’s licensing status and the condition of those who were on board.

Tongan lawyer Lance Talakai has been appointed by Utah Governor Spencer Cox to serve as a judge of the state’s Third District Juvenile Court.

Talakai’s appointment carries particular significance for Utah’s Tongan community. The Third District includes Salt Lake County, which the 2020 United States Census recorded as having 12,859 people identifying as Tongan alone or in combination — the largest Tongan population of any county in the United States.

The Third District Juvenile Court is a major part of Utah’s state judiciary, serving Salt Lake, Summit and Tooele counties and dealing with cases ranging from serious youth offending to child abuse, neglect, custody and other matters affecting vulnerable children and families.

Talakai was selected to fill the vacancy left by the retirement of Judge David Johnson, after being among five candidates nominated for the position by the Third District Judicial Nominating Commission. His appointment is subject to confirmation by the Utah Senate.

Governor Cox said Talakai’s extensive courtroom experience, including his work on serious youth offender cases, would be valuable to Utah families.

“Lance has spent his career serving people at some of the most consequential moments of their lives,” Cox said in announcing the appointment.

Talakai has spent the past 14 years as a defence attorney with the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association, where he has represented people facing felony and misdemeanor charges as well as serious youth offender cases.

His experience has also included leadership positions as a felony team leader and co-misdemeanor chief, along with recruiting, training and supervising new lawyers.

Talakai said he was deeply humbled by the appointment and particularly grateful for the opportunity to serve the district where he grew up.

He said that, if confirmed, he would carry out the judicial role with compassion, fairness, integrity and humility, while ensuring young people and families appearing before the court were treated with dignity and respect.

Before joining the Salt Lake Legal Defender Association in 2012, Talakai worked with the Utah County Public Defender and served as a law clerk for Utah’s Fourth District Court.

He holds a law degree from Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark Law School and a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Hawaii at Mānoa.

The Utah Senate subsequently sought public submissions on Talakai’s appointment, with its Judicial Confirmation Committee scheduled to consider his nomination before making a recommendation to the full Senate.

The committee formally considered Talakai’s appointment at its September 11 meeting as part of the Senate confirmation process.

A 43-year-old man has pleaded guilty to murdering his wife after shooting her nine times with a .22 firearm at their home in Vavaʻu earlier this year.

Kilisimasi ʻOneʻone appeared before Justice Tupou KC at the Supreme Court in Neiafu on Wednesday, September 16, where he admitted murdering his wife, Trina Diana ʻOneʻone, also 43.

The accused’s court appearance appeared to be his first since the fatal shooting on May 7, during which one of their daughters was also reportedly injured after allegedly trying to intervene.

Matangi Tonga reported that the court was told that ʻOneʻone caused his wife’s death by shooting her nine times with a .22 firearm.

The murder case shocked communities in Tonga and abroad and has been widely covered by Pacific media, including news outlets in New Zealand and Australia.

ʻOneʻone is expected to be sentenced in January 2027.

Fiji has declared its escalating HIV epidemic a national emergency after new estimates showed one in every 60 adults is living with the virus, a development with particular relevance to Tonga because of the close and longstanding movement of people between the two Pacific nations.

Fiji is an important regional education hub for Tonga, with many Tongan students studying at the University of the South Pacific’s main Laucala campus in Suva over the years.

The two countries also maintain extensive family, educational, sporting, religious and other connections, making Fiji’s worsening HIV epidemic an issue of wider regional significance.

Fiji’s Minister for Health and Medical Services, Dr Atonio Lalabalavu, announced the national emergency after evidence showed the epidemic had reached a level requiring a stronger and more coordinated response.

An estimated one in every 60 adults in Fiji is now living with HIV, compared with one in 167 five years ago.

The controversial US$6.25 million purchase of Lulutai Airlines’ Twin Otter — a deal that stunned Parliament after it was revealed by the media, was subsequently surrounded by allegations of secrecy, drew serious concerns over its price and due diligence, and was followed by substantial maintenance-related problems — has taken another troubling turn.

Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua has revealed that the aircraft is struggling to make a profit, partly because the weight of Tongan passengers can restrict the number of people it is able to carry on some flights.

Fakafanua made the revelation at a press briefing yesterday afternoon as he outlined problems his government had identified with the aircraft, purchased by the former Huʻakavameiliku government, and Lulutai’s continuing struggle to operate profitably.

Fakafanua said passenger weight meant all 19 seats could not be filled, with only around 12 passengers able to be carried. This left the airline with the choice of reducing passenger numbers or cutting other loads carried on the aircraft.

The revelation follows earlier complaints — and at times public ridicule — over the aircraft, with critics asking whether this was a brand new or a second hand aircraft, and whether the Twin Otter had been properly assessed for its suitability for Tonga before it was purchased.

Shortly after the aircraft arrived in Tonga, Kaniva News saw livestreamed videos shared on Facebook from inside the Twin Otter in which passengers complained that the seats were too small, with some adults appearing to need two adjoining seats to sit comfortably.

Engine replacement deepens purchase concerns

Concerns over the purchase intensified after the Huʻakavameiliku government resigned, with incoming Public Enterprises Minister Paula Piveni Piukala saying he believed proper due diligence had not been carried out.

He indicated that he had found no record of a feasibility study assessing whether the aircraft would be commercially viable or become a financial burden on the country.

After discovering that both engines were due for replacement barely a year after the aircraft was purchased, Piukala considered seeking the King’s consent to establish a Royal Commission to investigate the controversial deal.

When Kaniva News broke the news of the purchase in August 2023, some MPs were stunned and questioned then Prime Minister Huʻakavameiliku in Parliament about whether the report was correct. He confirmed that the aircraft had been purchased.

The disclosure triggered heated debate in the House, with several MPs claiming the aircraft purchase had not been provided for in the Budget — a claim Huʻakavameiliku strongly disputed, insisting that it had been included.

The controversy became one of the central issues in the 2023 vote of no confidence against Huʻakavameiliku, which he ultimately survived, before resigning amid a second no-confidence motion the following year.

Australian funding fuels controversy

The 2023 motion, led by his premiership rival Dr ʻAisake Eke, also raised questions over US$2 million in Australian Government funding that was used to help finance the aircraft.

The Huʻakavameiliku government maintained that the Australian funding was intended for the Twin Otter purchase.

The Opposition, however, presented a letter from the Australian High Commissioner in Tonga which it said confirmed that the money had been provided to Tonga as budget support rather than specifically to purchase the aircraft.

Experts question aircraft purchase,

As controversy over the purchase intensified, Kaniva News spoke to aviation experts who raised concerns about the aircraft. Some said it had allegedly been grounded in China from 2018 until 2023 and warned that certain aircraft components must be replaced according to calendar time, regardless of whether the aircraft is flying.

One expert questioned why the purchase price had been paid in full while the aircraft remained in China and said Tonga should have conducted its own inspection to ensure the aircraft met the safety requirements applicable in the Kingdom.

Problems continued after the aircraft arrived in Tonga. About four months later, it was grounded after damage to a computer sensor forming part of its Air Data Attitude Heading and Reference System.

By February 2025, the Twin Otter had undergone repeated maintenance groundings, while the Government was confronting the multimillion-dollar cost associated with replacing its engines.

The Twin Otter was also financed with TOP$10 million (US$4.2 million) from Tonga’s Retirement Fund Board — comprising a TOP$6 million (US$2.5 million) loan and a TOP$4 million (US$1.7 million) equity investment — according to the Government’s own Budget Strategy FY2025.

The TOP$6 million loan is guaranteed by the Government. Former Prime Minister Dr ʻAisake Eke previously told Kaniva News that while the guarantee provided security for the Retirement Fund, it transferred the financial risk to the Government.

He warned that if Lulutai failed to repay the loan, the Government would have to find the money elsewhere in its budget — potentially leaving taxpayers to ultimately bear the cost of the guarantee.

Teau ʻi Moʻunga Faletau, 43, was sentenced by Lord Chief Justice Malcolm Bishop KC after being convicted of arranging the transportation of 5,846.98 grams of methamphetamine through an airline baggage handler.

Because the amount exceeded 5,000 grams, Tonga’s Illicit Drugs Control Act required life imprisonment.

The Chief Justice clarified that life imprisonment was not simply the maximum penalty available — it was the only sentence permitted by law for the offence.

Faletau had approached ʻOfisi Ake, with whom he had developed a friendship, seeking his assistance as a baggage handler to get the methamphetamine onto an aircraft bound for New Zealand while avoiding detection, the court found.

However, Bishop said there was no evidence Faletau had previously been involved in drug dealing or was the mastermind of an international criminal organisation.

He described Faletau as not particularly sophisticated and found that he had apparently taken an opportunity to make easy money despite owning a successful business.

The judge also noted Faletau had provided employment in the community and had previously shown bravery while attempting to rescue the late Makisi Tonga when official assistance was unavailable.

While imposing the mandatory sentence, Bishop made an important clarification about what life imprisonment means under Tongan law.

He found that a life sentence without any possibility of future review or mitigation would be unlawful in Tonga.

Under the Constitution, the King, with the consent of the Privy Council, may pardon a convicted person or remit or reduce a sentence.

Tonga’s Prison Rules also provide for life sentences to be considered on their merits after periods including 10, 15 and 20 years, although such reviews do not guarantee release or a reduction.

Faletau’s life sentence was backdated to when he was first remanded in custody, while the court ordered the methamphetamine destroyed.

Co-defendant Mafi Fatongiatau Lutui was acquitted of a similar charge in the case.

Source: Matangi Tonga