SCP director says Ashika was in good condition [1]
Tuesday, November 3, 2009 - 09:47. Updated on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 - 17:40.
The Managing Director of Shipping Corporation of Polynesia SCP Ltd., John Jonesse, told the Commission of Inquiry yesterday morning, November 2, that the MV Princess Ashika was in good condition when it left Nuku'alofa on August 5 on its final voyage.
In response to John Jonesse's conviction that the Ashika was in good condition, the Assistant Counsel to the Commission, Manuel Varitimos, wanted to know 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 the holes on the floor and on the sides of the vessel.
John replied that 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 was in a good condition, which was his main concern.
John became the CEO of the SCP in April 2007, though he admitted that he had no experience in shipping whatsoever, and most significant was the fact that no one else from the Ministry of Transport or Marine and Ports accompanied John to Fiji to inspect the condition of the vessel prior to its acquisition by Government.
John became the Managing Director of SCP in February 2008.
John told the commission that when he advised the SCP Board of Directors that Ashika was in good condition, he was referring only to the mechanical condition of the ferry and nothing else.
The counsel told John that it was false and misleading to tell the SCP Board of Directors that the Ashika was in good condition, but John insisted that the Ashika was "in good mechanical condition."
John also told the Commission that he had sighted a current survey certificate of the Ashika in Fiji before the ferry was bought, but he did not make a copy of the certificate and it had never been sighted by anyone else in Tonga.
When the counsel again said that John's advice to the SCP Board of Directors that the Ashika was in good condition "was misleading and totally incorrect."
John responded that his advice was not misleading, but maybe inadequate, and the Board did not demand a further survey of the vessel to be carried out.
It was revealed during the hearing that while John was in Fiji to inspect the vessel he sighted a Current Survey Certificate on the Ashika in the Patterson Shipping office, which he claimed to have expired in June 2009, but he did not make a copy of the certificate to bring back to Tonga.
The counsel reminded the witness that the purpose of his visit to Fiji was to do paper order and sight critical documents including the Current Survey Certificate that extended beyond January 2007.
He said yes, and confirmed that the last survey certificate obtained from Fiji Patterson Shipping on Ashika expired in January 2007. He also agreed that this was a critical document but he said that he requested for a copy of it to be provided.
Counsel Varitimos showed the witness a Survey Certificate dated 2006 which stated that the number of passengers entitled to travel on Ashika was 405. In another Survey Certificate provided by the Ministry of Transport was issued in April 2009 by Fiji Marine which showed that the number of passengers was reduced to 160, including passengers and crew.
The counsel continued to question John but the only answer he got was, no.
The counsel told John that the Ashika was in danger to the people of Fiji and to the people of Tonga from July to August 2009. John said, no.
The counsel said that the MV Ashika was unseaworthy in both Fiji and in Tonga. John said, no.
The counsel suggested to the witness that if he had produced the current survey he would have surpassed the 160 number passengers lawfully entitled to travel on the Ashika and was he concerned that more than 100 people left on the Ashika on its final voyage on August 5. John said, no.
The witness took up the whole day with his testimony.