Previous Ashika owner lost other vessels [1]
Monday, August 10, 2009 - 16:45. Updated on Tuesday, April 29, 2014 - 22:27.
Editor,
I am writing to express my sadness and sorrow for the losses of the tragedy named the Princess Ashika. The Princess Ashika is the name of my little sister who my father absolutely adored so much that he bought this ship from Japan in 1985 and named it after her. When the coup occurred in Fiji in 1987 and my father lost his business and sold the Ashika to the Patterson Brothers Shipping in 1989 and we migrated to New Zealand and then to Australia and in the meantime lost my father on the way. The ship never lost its name and very sadly ended this way.
The Ashika was my fathers dream and being the most successful indian businessman in Fiji during his time, would never have dreamt that this boat where I used to spend most of my childhood would end up in such a tragedy. When I heard what happened I really felt for the family and have been overwhelmed by the losses that each respective family have been feeling and I am praying for all of you. When dad bought this ship from Japan it came through seven typhoons undamaged and was a rock solid safe and well maintained vessel.
The thing that concerns me is that the previous owners of the Ashika (Patterson Brothers) have lost other vessels, the Romanada, the Jubilee, and the Ovalau (in 2003) through sinking incidents. I am not making any accusations but it is interesting to point out that the Patterson Brothers Shipping has a very poor maintenance records as shown by the investigation by a commission into the sinking of the Ovalau in 2003. In the inquiry of the sinking of the Mv Ovalau the head Justice Devendra Pathik found Patterson Brothers Shipping guilty of negligence by ignoring the telling signs of wear and tear at the ship's hull and also found the failure of the Fiji Islands Marine Safety Administration (FIMSA) to properly follow and enforce the Marine Act and Marine Regulations was cited as a major contributing factor.
As so many lives have been lost there needs to be accountability as this ship was only sold a month ago and it has now sunk . I would ask the coronial inquest to take into account the Patterson Shipping and to undertake investigations to see if there was something that could have been identified which could have identified to prevent this tragedy from occuring.
God Bless
Concerned Aussie