CONSORT Shipping Limited, operators of the inter island vessel Spirit of the Fiji Islands (SOFI), has called on its open ticket holders to ensure their tickets are reconfirmed before attempting to travel.
This comes after passengers with unconfirmed tickets were not allowed to travel on the SOFI as the vessel had reached the maximum number of passengers it was allowed.
The incident occurred as the vessel was about to leave Narain Jetty on Friday night for Savusavu and Taveuni.
Consort Shipping finance and corporate affairs manager Adrial Prasad said open ticket holders were allowed to use them at any time over three months.
"The open tickets are valid for three months, however, passengers must contact our officers 24 hours prior to sailing in order to reconfirm the tickets for that voyage," Mr Prasad said.
He said the passengers with unconfirmed tickets were asked to wait while those with confirmed tickets boarded.
"After the passengers boarded, we accommodated those with unconfirmed tickets on a first-come-first-serve basis. Unfortunately, we couldn't accommodate a handful of passengers."
Mr Prasad said the details and conditions of an open ticket were clearly shown on the tickets and said the whole process of loading passengers had been overseen by Maritime Safety Authority of Fiji officers.
"All the passengers who were not allowed to travel on Friday have been rebooked for our trip," he added.