Ferry disaster could have been avoided
By BOPTHE sinking of mv Rabaul Queen is Papua New Guinea’s worst maritime disaster. I sympathise with those who have lost loved ones.
While nature may have had a hand in it, the disaster could have been avoided as there was a forecast of strong winds and high seas.
The vessel should have been grounded or the management could have reduced the number of passengers so that in the case of disaster, everyone would have a life jacket and life rafts would be able to accommodate all passengers. I wonder if there were enough life jackets for every passenger.
I believe the shipping company should take responsibility and stop blaming Mother Nature.
Since strong winds and high seas had been forecasted, it could have taken preventative measures. Instead of being blinded by profit, it should have put its “social responsibility” cap on and made the right decision. What is a couple of days’ loss in business compared to a hundred lives lost?
Mother Nature will always be unforgiving, furious and harsh, but humans – the most intelligent beings on earth – should always be prepared. More so humans who have had training and schooling to make the right choices.
THE ill-fated mv Rabaul Queen, which sank near Finschhafen district
in Morobe last Thursday morning was overloaded, Minister for Transport
and Works Francis Awesa says.
He said the vessel owners had breached safety standards by carrying more than the ship’s passenger capacity of 310 people.
Awesa said there were 40 extra people on the vessel when it sank.
He said the number of passengers on board could not be confirmed at this stage.
There were unconfirmed reports that there were more than 400 people aboard the ship.
Awesa said the vessel was built in 1983 and had been designed for short trips of several hours and should have had safety equipment on board.
He said the tragedy and loss of lives could have been avoided if safety had been put ahead of making money.
Awesa said the O’Neill-Namah regime was concerned because it involved so many lives lost and had issued orders for a preliminary investigation into the cause of the mishap.
He said it was one of the biggest marine accidents in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.
National Maritime Safety Authority executive manager of maritime operations Capt Nurur Rahman and chief executive officer Chris Rupen said the authority was determined and ready to carry out an investigation.
THE survivors and relatives of those who died in the mv Rabaul Queen disaster will petition vessel owner Peter Sharp to take full responsibility for the tragedy.
Yesterday at the Morobe provincial disaster and emergency unit office on Markham Road, the grieving relatives gathered and voiced their demands.
They wanted Sharp to address them in person rather than sending his lawyers or managers. Among the demands:
The relatives of passengers on the ill-fated vessel travelled to Lae from five highlands and Momase provinces and are staying day and night at the disaster office.
A mother, Mary Vura Dubery, who lost her eldest daughter Nemika and her granddaughter, said:
He said the vessel owners had breached safety standards by carrying more than the ship’s passenger capacity of 310 people.
Awesa said there were 40 extra people on the vessel when it sank.
He said the number of passengers on board could not be confirmed at this stage.
There were unconfirmed reports that there were more than 400 people aboard the ship.
Awesa said the vessel was built in 1983 and had been designed for short trips of several hours and should have had safety equipment on board.
He said the tragedy and loss of lives could have been avoided if safety had been put ahead of making money.
“Although it is too early to say, I can conclude that the vessel was overloaded,” he said.He said it was important for shipping companies to put the safety of passengers and crews first.
“The ship owner neglected to take precautions. The owner put money ahead of people’s lives.”
Awesa said the O’Neill-Namah regime was concerned because it involved so many lives lost and had issued orders for a preliminary investigation into the cause of the mishap.
He said it was one of the biggest marine accidents in Papua New Guinea and the Pacific.
National Maritime Safety Authority executive manager of maritime operations Capt Nurur Rahman and chief executive officer Chris Rupen said the authority was determined and ready to carry out an investigation.
THE survivors and relatives of those who died in the mv Rabaul Queen disaster will petition vessel owner Peter Sharp to take full responsibility for the tragedy.
Yesterday at the Morobe provincial disaster and emergency unit office on Markham Road, the grieving relatives gathered and voiced their demands.
They wanted Sharp to address them in person rather than sending his lawyers or managers. Among the demands:
- Arrange tugboats, barges and helicopters for urgent search and rescue;
- Meet all cost of survivors and various haus krais of the relatives;
- Meet all the repatriation cost for students as the academic year began yesterday; and
- Pay compensation for all the lives that have been lost and for the loss of property.
The relatives of passengers on the ill-fated vessel travelled to Lae from five highlands and Momase provinces and are staying day and night at the disaster office.
A mother, Mary Vura Dubery, who lost her eldest daughter Nemika and her granddaughter, said:
“We want their bodies here to give them a decent burial.They appealed to business houses in Lae to help continue the search.
“Five days have gone and if any survivors were swept ashore to the islands or beaches by waves, they will starve and dehydrate. They will need immediate assistance.
“Sharp needs to come out and respond immediately.”
THE passenger list handed out by the owners of the ill-fated mv
Rabaul Queen does not contain the names of the majority of passengers
who boarded it from Buka.
There were only six passengers listed as travelling from Buka, in
North Solomons, although survivors confirmed that there were a lot more
Bougainvilleans who boarded the vessel there because it was first port
of call.
The ship sank last Thursday in heavy seas off Finschhafen, Morobe province. So far, 246 survivors had been brought to Lae by rescue teams.
Attempts to get the exact number of people from the shipping company who might have been on board have not been successful. The company had closed its offices in Buka, Kokopo, Kimbe and Lae. It has refused to answer queries from distraught relatives, friends, survivors and journalists.
The manifest was released by the company last Saturday but did not have listing of people who got on the ship at Buka, the first port of call.
Only those who were travelling from the other two ports of call in Rabaul and Kimbe were on the list. The listing had 230 people travelling from Rabaul which was the second port of call, while 145 boarded the vessel at Kimbe. All these passengers totalling 375 were listed as bound for Lae. The vessel was licensed to carry only 310 passengers.
Seasoned travellers who frequently use the inter-island shipping services said many passengers got on the boats at the last minute without purchasing tickets at the port of departure. But they pay at the port of disembarkation. Many who were on the boat could not have had their names on the shipping company’s official manifest.
This meant that many who are still missing would not have had their names on the shipping company’s official documentation and might not be accounted for unless they had alerted relatives, friends or guardians to expect them in Lae.
Adult passengers travelling from Buka to Lae pay K440. Those from Rabaul pay K350 while travellers from Kimbe pay K210 for the trip to Lae.
The provincial disaster office in Lae confirmed that the mv Rabaul Queen began its trip from Buka. The six people on the manifest included four adults and two children. It would have brought the “official” total number of passengers travelling last Thursday to 381.
Search in the provincial waters of Morobe is still continuing with teams stretching their area to the southernmost parts of Oro (Northern) and Milne Bay.
Four bodies retrieved so far – three adult females and a five-year-old boy – were found towards Milne Bay waters. This has prompted search and rescue operations to also move into the area with two boats and a plane involved in the search.
The ship sank last Thursday in heavy seas off Finschhafen, Morobe province. So far, 246 survivors had been brought to Lae by rescue teams.
Attempts to get the exact number of people from the shipping company who might have been on board have not been successful. The company had closed its offices in Buka, Kokopo, Kimbe and Lae. It has refused to answer queries from distraught relatives, friends, survivors and journalists.
The manifest was released by the company last Saturday but did not have listing of people who got on the ship at Buka, the first port of call.
Only those who were travelling from the other two ports of call in Rabaul and Kimbe were on the list. The listing had 230 people travelling from Rabaul which was the second port of call, while 145 boarded the vessel at Kimbe. All these passengers totalling 375 were listed as bound for Lae. The vessel was licensed to carry only 310 passengers.
Seasoned travellers who frequently use the inter-island shipping services said many passengers got on the boats at the last minute without purchasing tickets at the port of departure. But they pay at the port of disembarkation. Many who were on the boat could not have had their names on the shipping company’s official manifest.
This meant that many who are still missing would not have had their names on the shipping company’s official documentation and might not be accounted for unless they had alerted relatives, friends or guardians to expect them in Lae.
Adult passengers travelling from Buka to Lae pay K440. Those from Rabaul pay K350 while travellers from Kimbe pay K210 for the trip to Lae.
The provincial disaster office in Lae confirmed that the mv Rabaul Queen began its trip from Buka. The six people on the manifest included four adults and two children. It would have brought the “official” total number of passengers travelling last Thursday to 381.
Search in the provincial waters of Morobe is still continuing with teams stretching their area to the southernmost parts of Oro (Northern) and Milne Bay.
Four bodies retrieved so far – three adult females and a five-year-old boy – were found towards Milne Bay waters. This has prompted search and rescue operations to also move into the area with two boats and a plane involved in the search.
Earlier ferry grounding a warning of a disaster waiting to happen
- From Rabaul to Kimbe passengers were already more than enough (I dont really know the sitting capacity, i’d guess about 300)
- It takes 3 days and 2 nights to get to Lae from Rabaul or vice versa. On the 2nd day at between12 and 1pm we arrived at Kimbe wharf and offloaded cargo and passengers while new passengers got on board with their new cargos.
- The new passengers on board were more than those that got off…at least 100+ maybe more (mostly Highlanders with their bags of buai!)
- When everyone was on board there was hardly any room to move around, I was stuck where I sat… going to the loo would be an issue – I would literally have to jump over sleeping/sitting people (which was what happened on my way to Rabaul too)
- Between 5-6pm when the ship started to move out of Kimbe wharf to begin its journey to Lae it started to rain and the place began to get a little dark.
- About 50 meters from the wharf, I felt a big thud and the ship came to a halt!… The front of the ship suddenly felt higher than the back.
- People were suddenly crowding along the railing, I joined in and managed to look over board and saw big chunky pieces of reef/coral sticking out of the sides of the ship – we had run aground!
- Some men climbed up to the Captains cabin and it was locked as he had locked himself in out of fear of retaliation from passengers, which was what happend on board. Some men were trying to break the door down and beat him up. Later we heard that he had apparently been entertaining some women in his cabin and a crew member had been at the helm. Dont know if that really happend or he was just sleeping in his cabin whilst the crew member took over.
- We then had to wait for negotiations between the Kimbe whard and main Rabaul Shipping office in Rabaul. We waited till about 7pm for the rescue boat to be given permission to be used to evacuate us!
- We got rescued whilst the rain pelted down on us, everyone was on the wharf by about 10pm.
- I had to wait a week for my refund, which i used to top up for airfares back to Madang via Pom. The rest of the people waited for the now sunken Rabaul Queen to take them to Lae.
I’m so thankful that we didnt run aground elsewhere, it would have been fatal.
No comments:
Post a Comment