There are no ‘internal’ waterways in Tuvalu however inter-island water transport is the main form of transportation for people and goods in the country.
Many of the outer islands do not have docking facilities for large ships and therefore landing craft are the preferred option for transporting heavy cargo/vehicles, otherwise transhipment using small boats from ships anchored off the beach is the norm. This can be challenging in the case of narrow entrances though the reefs particularly if any size of sea is running.
For more information on government contact details, please see the following link: 4.1 Government Contact List
Company Information
There are no private companies active in the market. Inter-island transport is mainly provided by government ships
For more information on waterway company contact details, please see the following link: 4.4 Port and Waterways Companies Contact List.
|
Passenger Carrying Capacity |
|
|---|---|
|
|
Government |
|
Number of Passenger Vessels < 20 Passengers |
HMTSS Te Matail (Aust. Patrol boat) Talamoana (12pax) |
|
Number of Passenger Vessels < 50 Passengers |
Moeiteava (40 pax) |
|
Number of Passenger Vessels < 100 Passengers |
|
|
Number of Passenger Vessels > 100 Passengers |
Nivaga lll (400 pax) Manufolau (250 pax) |
|
Cargo Carrying Capacity |
|
|---|---|
|
|
Government |
|
Boats |
|
|
Number of Boats |
1 Nivaga lll 2. Manufolau 3. Talamoana
|
|
Tonnage / Volume Carrying Capacity (MT / m3) |
1337 MT 582 MT 239 MT |
|
Barges |
|
|
Number of Barges |
1 Moeiteava |
|
Tonnage / Volume Carrying Capacity (MT / m3) |
403 MT |
|
Tugs |
|
|
Number of Tugs |
Nil |
|
Tonnage / Volume Carrying Capacity (MT / m3) |
|
Travel Time Matrix
|
Travel Time between islands on Nivaga III (approx. 9 knots) in hours |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Funafuti
|
Nukufetau |
Nui |
Niulakita |
Nukulaelae |
Niutao |
Nanumanga |
Nanumea |
Vaitupu |
|
Funafuti
|
|
(96km) |
(120km) |
(254km) |
(267km) |
(337km) |
(403km) |
(461km) |
(129km) |
|
Nukufetau |
6 hrs |
|
(171km) |
(328km) |
(214km) |
(246km) |
(307km) |
(371km) |
(61km) |
|
Nui |
7 hrs |
10 hrs |
|
(470km) |
(381km) |
(128km) |
(140km) |
(205km) |
(170km) |
|
Niulakita |
16 hrs |
21 hrs |
28 hrs |
|
(162km) |
(571km) |
(609km) |
(675km) |
(378km) |
|
Nukulaelae |
17 hrs |
14 hrs |
23 hrs |
10 hrs |
|
(457km) |
(519km) |
(584km) |
(248km) |
|
Niutao |
21 hrs |
15 hrs |
8 hrs |
34 hrs |
28 hrs |
|
(115km) |
(141Km) |
(212km) |
|
Nanumanga |
25 hrs |
19 hrs |
9 hrs |
37 hrs |
31 hrs |
7 hrs |
|
(71km) |
(292km) |
|
Nanumea |
30 hrs |
22 hrs |
12 hrs |
40 hrs |
35 hrs |
9 hrs |
5 hrs |
|
(343km) |
|
Vaitapu |
8 hrs |
4 hrs |
10 hrs |
23 hrs |
15 hrs |
13 hrs |
18 hrs |
21 hrs |
|
