‘Ship was tilting’

By LESLIE OMARO in LAE
THE mv Rabaul Queen was already listing to the port side when it set sail from Kimbe to Lae and no attempt was made to correct the anomaly, the Commission of Inquiry was told in Lae yesterday.
The inquiry into the sinking of the mv Rabaul Queen on Feb 2 is headed by Justice Andrew Warwick who is assisted by counsels Mal Varitimos and Emmanuel Asigau.
Crew members Paul Kanawi, from Pere village, Manus, and Robin Huas, from Nobnob village in Madang, were employed as motormen by Rabaul Shipping which owns the ship.
The two 26-year-olds attended the PNG Maritime College in Madang, studying marine engineering. They completed their course a month apart and acworked on the Rabaul Queen until its sinking.
Their job as motormen was to watch over the ship’s engine. They worked eight-hour shifts each.
With the help of interpreter Ignatius Bolokon, the two related their last moments on the ship to the commission.
On the morning of Feb 2, Kanawi was just finishing his shift from 2am to 6am and Huas was about to begin his 6am to 10am shift when disaster struck.
Kanawi and Huas said the ship was not balanced and was tilting, or leaning, to the left side but nothing was done to fix the problem after it left Kimbe.
Huas, who gave evidence first, admitted that fresh water had been loaded to balance the ship on both sides and that same water was also used for drinking and for the toilets.
He said the water to balance the ship was overflowing and the titling was noticeable and got worse as the ship continued its journey towards Lae.
He said the ship was tilting although no water came into the engine room. He stayed at the engine room level but went to the upper deck to get some fresh air.
He noticed that the decks were overcrowded with people sitting on the floor or standing.
He said the ship took only about 10 minutes to sink.
He said the chief engineer was in his cabin and there was nobody in the engine room but himself.
Huas said when he jumped into the water, he saw two people with life jackets and heard people screaming for help.
He said the ship sank upside down with its keel up and he swam to a life raft. He was rescued eight hours later.
He told Varitimos that he was not aware of the time when the water tanks of the ship were filled.
He said there were bags of betelnut, tools and drums of fuel in the cargo area.
“I went into the cabin room to check the other motorman and came back to the engine room. I saw that the fuel level was down and that’s when I felt the first wave hit the ship from the back and water came in.”
Kanawi said he stopped the pump and went up to check what was happening  when he was met by a gush of water which put the electricity in the engine room out in a couple of minutes.