Passengers of the German cruise ship Albatros collected $US16,000 for six Tongan fishermen Featured
FV Losemani Fo'ou towed by a life boat from the German cruise ship Albatros
9 February, 2017. Passengers of the German cruise ship Albatros have collected about $US16,000 for six Tongan fishermen who were rescued by the ship.
The men were picked up last Sunday after a New Zealand Air Force Orion, which located them through their emergency beacon, asked the Albatros to change course to pick them up.
Radio New Zealand reported that the money raised is enough to help cover the loss of their boat, which was abandoned.
The captain and owner of FV Losemani Fo'ou Vailele Taukitoku told Matangi Tonga that he bought the boat with a loan of more than $100,000 pa'anga from the Tonga Development Bank, and brought it over to Tonga from Greymouth, New Zealand in October last year.
The money riased is expected to be distributed to the fishermen of FV Losemani Fo'ou.
The cruise ship dropped the men in Auckland and they are now safely back in Tonga.
-RNZI
