Tonga disaster - sister-ship's similar fate

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Details have emerged which show the sinking of the Tongan ferry last week may have been similar to that of its sister-ship in Fiji in 2003.

The details come as navy divers from New Zealand and Australia battle the odds to try and find the wreck and the 93 bodies understood to be still trapped inside the ferry's cabins.

Two people have been confirmed dead.

It has been widely alleged that the Princess Ashika ferry had been badly maintained. MP and ship owner 'Uliti Uata claims the ship was leaking before it sank.

Tongan Prime Minister Dr Feleti Sevele announced that a formal commission of inquiry will be held.

The government has put T$500,000 (NZ$377,000) into a fund for the families of the dead, with the Chinese community in Nuku'alofa donating T$51,520.

A government statement said the donation was accepted by the Princess Regent, Salote Pilolevu, who is filling in for King George Tupou V, who is on an extended Scottish holiday.

The Princess Ashika, launched in 1973, used to operate for Fiji's Patterson Brothers Shipping out of Rakiraki, between Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.

It shared the run with MV Ovalau II, a slightly larger ship built in 1969.

On August 23, 2003, Ovalau sank in the channel without loss of life. Many of the 80 passengers were rescued by the Princess Ashika.

In 2005 the results of a Fiji Marine Inquiry conducted by Justice Devendra Pathik slammed Patterson Brothers.

The enquiry found the sinking occurred in good weather and that the ship sank because the engine room flooded and non-seamanship ethics were used aboard the ship.

Also blamed was "the complacency of the ship-owner to admit and act upon signs of hull weaknesses."

In his conclusion Justice Pathik said the sinking of Ovalau had been an act of God.

"The law as to seaworthiness of a vessel is quite clear," he said.

Operation Manager Trevor Patterson had "ignored the warning and danger signs of hull weaknesses".

Claims have now been made that as the Princess Ashika started to leak, crew tried to bail out with buckets - a similar situation occured on the Ovalau.

"The way the captain and everyone down the line tried to stop the water flooding the deck by using mops does not speak highly or efficiency of the captain and the owners in such a situation," Justice Pathik said at the inquiry into the Ovalau's sinking.

"One would have thought that one uses a mop in an ordinary household to sweep the floor, kitchen and bathroom. What they did was a serious error of judgment. The whole of the sequence of events starting from the use of the mops and what followed after this was unprecedented.

"The captain appeared to be sleeping on the job when he was for a long time oblivious to what danger the vessel was in and whether the crews' effort to contain the situation was successful or not," Justice Pathik said.

"The owners of vessels have a heavy responsibility to see that their vessels are seaworthy in every respect. It is incumbent on underwater surveyors and other surveyors to see to the thorough inspections of 'hulls' as owners rely heavily on their expertise so that this kind of incident is not repeated," the ruling said.

"Let everyone concerned learn from the experience of MV Ovalau II," Justice Pathik concluded.