The American Samoa government is to buy two passenger and cargo vessels to service the Manu'a island group.
The boats are to cost about 6 million US dollars and will be built to U.S. Coast Guard specifications.
The port administration director Dr. Claire Poumele says the larger of the two vessels, which will cost about 5 million US dollars and be funded by the U.S. Transportation Department, will operate between the main island of Tutuila and Manu'a.
She says this boat will have better accommodation for passengers that the mv Sili, which has only about five to seven years of life left.
The second vessel, which will be a type of catamaran, will cost less than one million dollars and be funded through a U.S. Interior Department grant.
This boat will be used to transport passengers and cargo between the islands of Manu'a - a service currently provided by small privately owned vessels.
