MV Princess Ashika: unsuitable to sail on Tonga's open seas [1]
Wednesday, February 16, 2011 - 15:16. Updated on Monday, September 9, 2013 - 18:40.
I believe that the design of the MV Princess Ashika vessel made her unsuitable to sail on Tonga's open high seas, even if the needed repair work on the vessel was done, Viliami Vaka'uta Pola Vi told the Supreme Court in Nuku'alofa on the second day of the Ashika trial, yesterday, February 15.
Viliami Vi was the first witness to be called by the Crown at the start of the trial on February 14. When he was cross examined by Peau Pifeleti the defence counsel for the Acting Marine Director, Viliami Tu'ipulotu, and pointed out that he did not even know whether the Ashika vessel was registered in Tonga or not.
He said he had never actually saw the Princess Ashika, excepting for photos and documents that John Jonesse, the former Director of the Shipping Corporation showed him on April 2009. "Apart from that I had no knowledge of anything else", he said.
Viliami Tu'ipulotu is charged with six counts of manslaughter by negligence, and five other counts for sending an unseaworthy ship to sea when he signed a Provisional Certificate on 3 July, 2009.
Certificate
The Provisional Certificate authorised the transferring of the MV Princess Ashika from Fiji to Tonga.
Viliami Vi, however stressed that when the vessel arrived in Tonga the Provisional (temporary) Certificate expired and the Tongan authority should have carried out all relevant surveys of the vessel before a permanent certificate of registration was issued.
Viliami Vi told the court that if there were deficiencies that the surveyors identified they should have been rectified before the vessel was registered.
The defence counsel then askede the witness if he had sighted any certificate that his client, the Acting Director of Marine had written directing that all deficiencies must be tended to before the ship sailed. He answered yes, he said he recalled sighting such document.
Viliami Vi also reaffirmed to the defence counsel that the design of the vessel was to sail on sheltered waters like that of the Fanga'uta Lagoon in Nuku'alofa and not at the open sea.
Unseaworthy
Viliami Vi stressed that when he saw the vessel on its arrival he was convinced that it was unseaworthy.
"So if all deficiencies were rectified would the vessel become seaworthy?" asked the defence counsel.
"In my opinion the design of the Ashika was wrong for Tonga waters regardless if the repair work was done because when one built or purchase a vessel there are certain criteria to follow. The nature of the sea it would sail in, the distance it would travel, the kind of cargo it would carry and whether its a passenger or cargo ship. These factors determined the design of a vessel."
Viliami Vi was then shown a Provisional Certificate that Viliami Tu'ipulotu signed on July 3, 2009.
The Defence Counsel, Peau told the witness that Viliami Tu'ipulotu signed the certificate while in a meeting with the marine surveyors and he noted that the deficiencies must be rectified before the vessel departed Tongatapu on July, but while they were talking the vessel had departed Nuku'alofa.
He elaborated that the crown alleged was that his client's issuing a Provisional Certificate allowed the vessel to sail. He then asked the witness about the authority of such a document in relation to the operation of the vessel?
Viliami Vi explained that a Provisional Certificate of survey is not the Registration Certificate of the vessel, and a vessel is required to be registered before it is allowed to sail on Tongan waters.
The counsel said that his client was charged with negligent for signing the Provisional Certificate, but he wanted to know if Viliami Vi believed that his client committed negligent.
Justice Robert Shuster instructed the counsel that that was a matter for the jury to decide. The Crown also objected to the counsel's question.
Listen
While Viliami Vi was cross examined by Laki Niu, John Jonesse's lawyer said he gave John a list of items when they met in April 2009 for 50 minutes.
"Did you explain to John Jonesse the items in the list, since John Jonesse had no shipping knowledge?" asked Laki.
"Yes, I told him that the vessel required to dock and the repair work needed to be done and that I wanted to see the Stability Book. I tried to explain this to him but he changed our conversation and talked about how the vessel would operate in Tonga. He did not want to listen to me," said Viliami Vi.
"You said you wrote the three page notes during your meeting with John Jonesse but we say you did it after the meeting," asserted Laki.
"I wrote it down during the meeting and I tried to explain it to him the condition of vessel but he talked about operation and how this would be used when it sailed and so forth," Viliami Vi shot back.
The counsel said that John Jonesse said he contacted Viliami Vi later about the report but Viliami said he was busy and that the report has not been written.
The witness disagreed and said that John Jonesse never contacted
him again after their last meeting.
"It was me who was waiting for him to come back after our meeting. He told me to keep the documents and he would contact me because it was understood that I was the one who would go to Fiji and sail the vessel to Tonga," he added.
Believe
The defense counsel then asked the witness whether he told anyone of his opinion that the vessel was unsuitable for Tonga.
He answered that he told the Principal of the Maritime Institute Fokololo and Marine Engineer Mosese Fakatou.
"So your thought was to just leave it alone and let them use it although it was unseaworthy," Asked Laki.
"No, I had no such thoughts, and who in Tonga would believe me that it was a bad vessel," he asked.
"It was only after the vessel sank that you came forward and said that the ship was unseaworthy," asserted Laki, but Viliami disagreed.
Viliami Vi concluded his evidence yesterday afternoon February 15, after one and a half day in court.