Tonga ferry a 'disaster waiting to happen'

Weeks before the Tongan ferry Princess Ashika sank with the loss of 75 people, marine experts in Fiji and Tonga had described it as a menace to the public and crew, the Royal Commission into its sinking has heard.

The 37-year-old ferry sank on August 5 on a voyage from Nuku'alofa.

The commission has heard days of sensational evidence, including revelations that the captain was asleep for most of the time the ship was flooding.

The ship had been purchased in Fiji by the state-owned Shipping Corporation.

In the latest revelation, the Royal Commission has been told that just before its sale, Fiji Islands Marine Safety Authority had described Ashika as a "maritime disaster waiting to happen."

It added: "Corrosion was widespread, invading the whole vessel.... which showed that this vessel should and must be condemned from sea transportation of any nature since it is a danger to public and the crew who man her."

The Fiji report found many breaches of the hull that had caused widespread corrosion from the outside and also from the internal section of the hull."

Tongan government senior marine officer Lou Pale, said he and two other officers surveyed the ship in Nuku'alofa on July 2, spending three hours on it.

Pale said the conditions were very bad. There were no scuppers and the stern and forward ramps were welded closed.

"We saw on deck many doubling - doubled-up welding. There's too much. Corroded."

Some of the corrosion had been covered up with new paint.

After they had completed the survey and expressed concern, they were not contacted again.

He said Ashika was "not seaworthy and ... should be stopped."

He wanted it detained and stopped from sailing.

"At one stage someone asked me how do I look at the boat. And I explained to him that... it shouldn't be running, it should be a nightclub."

Mr Pale told the inquiry a man called 'Onesi Tu'ifua had telephoned the Marine Department to try and stop the sailing.

He said Mr Tu'ifua was "really angry" Ashika had sailed.

"I think, that's why he... make the phone call to stop the vessel."

The Royal Commission is continuing to sit.