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The captain of the ill-fated MV Princess Ashika which sank inTonga waters in August said he knew the vessel was unseaworthy but sailed anyway.
Giving evidence to a Tongan Royal Commission of Inquiry which has adjourned until December 7, Captain Viliami Makahokovalu Tuputupu said he made the decision to sail because he relied on information from the Marine and Ports Division to state the vessel was not good to operate.
Matangi Tonga online reports that the captain who slept for over four hours was not awakened until five minutes before the vessel sank just before midnight on August 5.
He told the inquiry he did not stop the vessel from sailing because someone high could over-ride his command, but agreed he had the power to stop it.
The captain earlier told the inquiry that he knew the vessel was unseaworthy because it had no draft and could tell the corrosion of the hull and inside the cargo deck when first seeing it in Fiji.
He also confirmed that on Ashika’s previous trips prior to August 5, water came through the vessel and there many holes punctured by waves. And at one point in the fourth voyage in July a crew had to punch the side of the vessel to let water out and another incident saw the vessel stopping in the middle of the ocean because the engine died.
He said the vessel’s rudder could turn only 15 degrees each way instead of the 40 degrees necessary to allow it to turn and avoid danger. The rudder was never fixed. Nevertheless, he confirmed that he did not try to stop it apart from telling the owner that repairs were required.
