VANUATU police confirm charges will be laid after two died and two remain missing in an inter-island ferry disaster.
Police say they will lay negligence charges after a Vanuatu ferry capsized, killing two people and leaving two missing.
The inter-island passenger ferry capsized on Friday morning, throwing its 41 passengers and crew into the water.
Deputy Commissioner John Taleo has told Pacific Beat the ferry was overloaded and took only a minute to sink to a depth of 350 metres, early in the morning.
A major rescue operation saved 37 people but four were trapped underneath the barge, named MCY.
Police say the bodies of two females had been recovered but a 10-month-old baby and a crew member remain missing.
Police divers say the bodies of the missing will remain onboard as the ferry is now too deep to recover them.
Mr Taleo says charges, including of negligence, will be laid both against the owners of the ship as well as the Ports and Harbour Authority inspectors who issued a seaworthy certificate.
He says police have been informed that before the vessel left Malekula it had been having repairs for a hole in the body of the ship.
“The boat is not seaworthy to transport passengers and even to deliver services to the islands of the Republic of Vanuatu,” Mr Taleo said.
He says the main reason the boat capsized is because there was a hole in the bottom of the hull.
Mr Taleo says the ferry was also overloaded with 6000 litres of fuel, copra, packs of kava and other cargo.
“The carrying capacity of passengers is only 30, but they overloaded it with 41 passengers, including crew as well on board,” he said.
The ferry was travelling from Malekula to the capital, Port Vila, when it capsized, around 3.5 kilometres from Mangaliliu Village, north of Efate island.
Some hours before, its engines had apparently failed several kilometres out at sea.
“A classic example for other trading vessels operating in Vanuatu, so that is a big lesson learned,” Mr Taleo said.
“And we will carry out an investigation and also we will sack the authority, especially the Ports and Harbour Authority who granted the vessel seaworthy to operate in the waters of Vanuatu.”
