Results for Tonga ferry sinking

The Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika published its Interim Report on November 27, 2009, stating it needs to hear more witnesses and consider other evidence.

Captain Viliami Makahokovalu Tuputupu gave evidence on November 19 and said he knew the MV Princess Ashika was unseaworthy but sailed anyway, because he relied on information from the Marine and Ports Division to state the vessel was not good to operate, but at the same time he never believed it would sink on August 5.

Hundreds of people filled the Fa'onelua Convention Centre for the first public viewing of the MV Princess Ashika wreckage video at 4:30 pm on Friday, November 13, pushing through the doors to get seats while others sat on the floor, while many more waited outside the gates for a second screening.

A 70 year old passenger who survived the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika but lost his wife and young daughter, told the Royal Commission of Inquiry this morning that during the fatal voyage he had asked Captain Maka Tuputupu to return to Nuku'alofa after seeing water coming through the ramp on the cargo deck.

Tangimana Lemoto (25) the first survivor to give testimony at the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Princess Ashika this morning told of water forging through the cargo hull causing vehicles to move below deck. The vessel then rocked intensively from side to side before sinking before midnight on August 5.

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.

The advanced level of corrosion and rust on the MV Princess Ashika was a serious concern for Sateki Tupou, whenever the ferry left port, the foreman and the workshop supervisor of the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia Ltd., told the Commission of Inquiry Day Four on Friday, October 30.

The first public hearing of the Royal Commission of Inquiry into the sinking of the MV Ashika ferry was held on October 1 at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre.

On August 25, 2009 a flotilla of vessels carrying about 500 mourners gathered in Ha'apai waters, around a point where four orange buoys floated in the water marking the last position of the MV Princess Ashika. They held a memorial and mass funeral ceremony at sea for the 74 people who were lost when the inter-island ferry sank on August 5. Part Three: Photos by Linny Folau on the MV Pulupaki and Pesi Fonua on the VOEA Pangai.