Inquiry brings dad sense of satisfaction

By ELLEN TIAMU
THE father of a victim of the mv Rabaul Queen ferry tragedy says the Commission of Inquiry is the best thing to have happened for families of those who perished as well as survivors and their families.
Lae resident, Tommy Yep, chairman of the legal action committee is currently in Port Moresby for the inquiry.
Yep said after more than two months of silence from the proprietor of the shipping company, Peter Sharp, and relevant authorities, “there is finally some sense of relief and satisfaction for us”.
He said suffering parties got to see Sharp took the stand and provided some answers to questions that had been asked since Feb 2 when the ferry sank in heavy seas off the Finschhafen coast.
While Sharp had vehemently maintained initially that the certified number of 290 passengers had been on board at the time of the tragedy, the number of people on the manifest he handed over at the start of the inquiry on Tuesday was more than 460.
Yep said it was also pleasing to see that as the inquiry proceeded, relevant government organisations, such as the national maritime safety authority and the national weather service coming forward.
 “The inquiry gives us a sense of closure and we would like to thank the government for establishing and funding it,” Yep said. 
It is anticipated that hearings in Kimbe, Rabaul, Buka and Lae will attract more people as most of passengers were from there.