Tongan Ferry Tragedy: New Zealander Did Not Check Hull Before Ferry Purchase
NZPA reports
A Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the Tongan ferry, Princess Ashika, has been told the New Zealander who bought the vessel never looked into the state of its hull.
The ferry sank in August this year with the loss of 74 lives.
John Jonesse, managing director of Shipping Corporation of Polynesia (SCP) Ltd, gave evidence in Nuku’alofa, after two earlier witnesses testified to an advanced level of corrosion on the vessel, and gaping holes.
Mr Jonesse, who bought the 37-year-old ferry on behalf of the Tongan government, said he never looked into the state of the vessel’s hull….
Mr Jonesse told the commission the MV Princess Ashika was in good condition when it left Nuku’alofa on August 5 on its final voyage. The counsel assisting the commission, Manuel Varitimos, asked if he had actually seen the evidence given by three previous witnesses, the marine engineer Mosese Fakatou and the two welders who confirmed the advanced level of corrosion, and holes on the floor and on the sides of the vessel.
Mr Jonesse said he had seen the evidence of the three witnesses, but he stood by his conviction that the electrical and the mechanical condition of the vessel were in a good condition, which was his main concern.
It also reports that Mr Jonesse, a Christchurch businessman, had no experience in shipping, and was the only one who inspected or sighted the ship in Fiji before purchase. Transport Ministry surveyors were asked to attend the inspection but didn’t.
Click here to read more: Kiwi didn’t check hull when buying Tonga ferry | nzpa.
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