Siassi dinghy goes to Philippines and back

A SIASSI islander in Morobe province, could not believe that his boat and money, lost in a marine accident almost six months ago, was found, taken to the Philippines and returned to Lae, all intact.
Albert Namongo, from Aramot village, did not believe Morobe Fisheries Management Authorities officers when they called last week to tell him of the good news.
Provincial project adviser, Weti Zozingao, and MFMA chairman, Frank Pologo, said yesterday that Namongo did not believe them at first because his first thought was that the incident happened six months ago and how they had found and returned his boat.
“We kept telling him that his boat and the bag containing the money, all in coins, was with us in Lae and that he should come and pick them up,” they said.
After several attempts at persuading him, Namongo finally travelled to Lae to confirm the news but had to return home to give authorities time to formally clear his belongings.
Namongo’s story goes back about six months, on the morning of Feb 18 when the 19-foot banana boat he and six others were travelling on, capsized in high seas at Bobongara, in the Vitiaz strait, between Siassi island and Sialum on the mainland, in the Tewae-Siassi electorate.
The lost and found items were handed over to the MFMA officers in Lae yesterday and will be return to Namongo at a later date.