Results for Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika

A Marine Officer who surveyed the MV Princess Ashika vessel on July 2 the day after its arrival in Nuku'alofa, told the Ashika Inquiry today that the ferry was not seaworthy and was dangerous to the public due to the widespread corrosion that invaded the entire vessel.

Important testimony by John Jonesse, Managing Director of the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia Ltd., was cut short today when the SCP board cut off his access to corporate legal defence, thereby forcing an adjournment of the Ashika ferry inquiry.

Paul Karalus the former Minister of Transport who resigned on July 11, six days after the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika on August 5 will give evidence on December 14 at the Royal Commission of Inquiry, Nuku'alofa.

The first public hearing of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika on the night of August 5, got into a vibrant start this afternoon, when Mosese Fakatou, a former Marine Engineer with the Ministry of Ports and Authority showed slide photos of holes and heavy corroded sides and floor of the ferry.

Mr Justice Warwick Andrew has been temporarily relieved from his Supreme Court judge duties to take up his role as the Chairman of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika.