Answers have been sought on why a sailor without the necessary qualifications was allowed to captain an inter-island ferry two years ago.

The Member of Parliament from Anoama'a No.2 Lauofo Fonotoe Pierre Lauofo raised the issue as the Infrastructure Sector Committee Report on Samoa Shipping Services Limited was discussed in parliament on Tuesday.

Lauofo was the first Member of Parliament to speak on the report. He said this was a serious issue and the committee should come up with a full report on this incident.

"There should be a report from the Infrastructure Sector Committee and also the minister for the Samoa Shipping Corporation of the outcome of their investigations into the matter," Lauofo said.

"This is a serious matter where a sailor was captaining a trip from Salelologa to Mulifanua and yet the punishment was harsher on the captain who did not captain the trip than the sailor who was captaining that particular trip," he added.

Lauofo went on and questioned the outcome of that investigation due to the seriousness of this incident as put the safety of the passengers at risk.

He said the sailor did not have a license and it was an issue the minister and Samoa Shipping Services should look into to avoid from happening in the future.

Lauofo also claimed his concerns about the number of sailors sent back home because of alcohol-related incidents they were involved in.

The member of parliament said the report showed that 30 per cent of the Samoan sailors overseas were sent back home because of incidents involving alcohol and it was concerning to see the opportunities being wasted.

"The SSS should look into ways to counsel the young sailors to avoid being involved in this kind of incident especially alcohol," Lauofo said.

"Sailors are very important to the economy of Samoa but if this is the case with sailors being sent home because of alcohol, then SSS should look into ways to solve this," he added.

The Anoama'a MP also encouraged the Samoa Shipping Services to look into more opportunities for our students who graduated from Marine School for overseas careers as sailors.

The Samoa Shipping Services is the sole ferry service provider between the domestic route Upolu - Savaii and the international route Apia - Pago Pago, American Samoa.