Tongan ferry boss rejects report

BY MARTIN VAN BEYNEN

The former Christchurch businessman at the centre of the Tongan ferry disaster denies he had any knowledge of problems that may have caused the vessel to sink with the loss of more than 90 lives.

Entrepreneur John Jonesse is the managing director of the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia, which operated the ill-fated Princess Ashika.

At least 149 people were on board when the ferry capsized 86km northeast of the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa last Wednesday. Two bodies and 54 survivors have been found, while 93 people were presumed drowned after being trapped in the vessel.

The New Zealand Navy was confident sonar images had pinpointed the vessel yesterday, sitting upright and intact in 110m of water, too deep to dive on.

However poor weather has stalled efforts to send a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) down to the boat.

"There's a lot of wind around and that's going to prevent us from conducting our ROV operations," said Andrew McMillan of the Royal New Zealand Navy.

"Our depth limit is 50m, we can't get down there with the divers so the ROV is our only option. it carries a video camera with it, so it will actually give the operator on the surface a live picture of what's down underneath," he told Radio New Zealand.

Meanwhile, John Jonesse has been accused of ignoring crucial defects in the ship found by both the ship's master and Tongan Maritime School lecturer Willie Vi.

Vi told 3 News last night that he had prepared a draft report for Jonesse saying the vessel was unsuitable for Tongan waters and highlighting problems such as no lashings in the cargo area of the ferry, no seals over the loading ramps, rusted platforms and holes.

Jonesse said he fixed lashings to the vessel and dismissed Vi's report as just a draft.

Jonesse told The Press last night that he was "under the hammer" from the New Zealand media, but the Tongan press was supportive.

He said the skipper's claims were understandable, given he was out to protect his own position.

"In any marine environment, the master is responsible for ensuring the vessel is seaworthy and able to go to sea. As far as the master drawing my attention to issues either verbally or in writing, that is not the case.

"We have weekly meetings looking at all areas of operation, and none of the people there are aware of any of these statements. We have no record of such conversations."

Asked if the vessel was seaworthy, Jonesse said it had a certificate to say it was seaworthy. He had instituted a comprehensive safety strategy at the company.

He was confident he would be exonerated by the commission of inquiry into the tragedy.

"My main priority is we have a large number of people camped in our office and we also have some families that relate to this disaster from overseas, and I have committed to spending some time with them. They are Japanese," he said.

Jonesse started managing the Tongan ferry company in 2007.

Aged about 60, he has been behind several unsuccessful businesses in the South Island.

In 1994, he and others set up a traditional Japanese restaurant in Christchurch's Guthrey Centre that was supposed to be the precursor of an international chain. The venture, called The Tamakyu Way, failed despite the outlay of about $500,000.

By 2000, Jonesse was the head of a dairy farm management trust called Rural Solutions. The trust aimed to manage dairy farms for investors, but the venture did not progress.

Jonesse then became manager of a firm called Rural South, which sold calf meal.

Managing director Dave Snowden said the Rural South business had five or six staff but struck problems, eventually proving not to be viable. "We decided to wind it up. It cost us a lot of money and we weren't prepared to inject any more," he said.

Jonesse was a great talker who appeared to be well organised but seemed to have many "things on the go", Snowden said.

At the time he was employed by the grain company, Jonesse had been interested in weather data collection equipment and in a venture where toxins were extracted from pine timber to provide a fibre source.

"He had lots of ideas and tried lots of different things.

"He was into everything," Snowden said.

Jonesse said he had tried to establish several nutriceutial-type joint-venture businesses before leaving for Tonga but was unsuccessful.

Some investors lost their money.

- © Fairfax NZ News