A Senior Marine Engineer who surveyed the MV Princess Ashika vessel in Nuku'alofa on July 2 said he told the Acting Director for the Marine Division on numerous occasions that vessel was in an unfit condition, and on one occasion he specifically asked him to stop it from sailing.

'Onesi Tu'ifua, a Senior Marine Engineer with the Marine and Ports Division at the Ministry of Transport, told the Royal Commission of Inquiry today, that from July 1 to August 5, 2009, he asked the Acting Director Viliami Tu'ipulotu to please stop the vessel from sailing due to its unfit condition.

"I had no power, he had the power," said 'Onesi.

In addition, the witness confirmed having voiced his concern over the poor state of the vessel and its unsuitability to sail, to SCP Managing Director John Jonesse, who in return did not take much care of what he said.

The marine engineer was one of the surveyors assigned from the Ministry of Transport to conduct a detailed survey of the vessel in Nuku'alofa on July 2 after arriving from Fiji on July 1. He said he was never asked to go and survey the vessel in Fiji and they were only notified to do the survey when it arrived in Nuku'alofa.

Concern over unfit condition

He told the inquiry he raised his concern over the unfit condition of the Ashika to sail up to ten times in various discussions with the Acting Director of Marine. On one occasion he specifically asked him to stop the Princess Ashika because he saw the corrosion and it was the right decision to stop it from sailing in Tongan waters. The witness also voiced his opinion to other co-workers at the Ministry of Transport with the exception of the former Minister of Transport Paul Karalus.

Not suitable for Tonga

The witness first observed the vessel upon arrival on July 1 for an hour and confirmed that Karalus and Jonesse were also onboard. He said the design of the vessel was not suitable to sail in Tongan waters because of the big open area of the cargo deck that could easily allow big waves to enter causing the instability of the vessel.

He said on July 2 he returned to the vessel with other surveyors and conducted the survey. He confirmed the accuracy of the deficiency list they issued on July 2 that included the need for the bow and stern ramps to be rectified before it sailed. He said on July 3 he and another surveyor, Vuni Latu, had a discussion with the Acting Director and they came to an agreement that the list needed to be rectified and he pleaded with the Acting Director to stop the vessel from sailing.

'Onesi confirmed that it was not necessary to rectify the entire deficiency list before the vessel sailed but it was indeed vital and compulsory that major defaults were to be repaired. He added he was not aware of any Fijian Survey Certificates that showed the number of passengers were reduced to 160 due to safety concerns over the poor state of the vessel, or that a Fijian surveyor last year had noted the Ashika "as a maritime disaster waiting to happen".

Safety certificates not onboard

The engineer was also concerned that a number of certificates required for safety were not onboard the vessel including a load-line certificate and the vessel's stability book. He said the load-line was submerged when surveyed, reaffirming marine officer Lou Pale's evidence yesterday, that when the vessel was surveyed there was no cargo onboard.

He estimated it would have taken a year to rectify the deficiency list on the vessel depending on how fast the work was done and the availability of materials.