Officers suspended after vessel partially sank

THREE water police officers have been suspended for 21 days after the vessel Mangae partially submerged in Lae, Morobe, acting ACP operations David Manning says.
“These officers based in the Northern Water Police Command have been suspended and are now under investigation for negligence. They did not cover PV Mangae during heavy rain resulting in the half sinking of the boat last Tuesday,” Manning said.
Manning said he would not tolerate irresponsible and careless behaviour from his personnel in regards to the care of state assets.
Meanwhile, Water Police Northern Command officer in charge Chief Insp Christopher Smith said the suspension and investigation of the officers were part of the disciplinary process.
“They did not cover the boat with a canopy. The canopy was removed earlier for maintenance. But then they should have tried to find a temporary canopy to prevent rain water filling the deck.
“An investigation will reveal what really caused the boat to sink. It’s a public asset so the people must be made aware of what happened.”
Smith said the boat did not sink completely.
“It was only the back part (stern) of it where the engine is housed sank. In fact, that boat has not been serviced for about 13 months and its engine was not working. We have been waiting for funding to replace the engine for all those months.”
Smith said continuous rain last week had resulted in boat’s batteries going flat and meant the bilge pump could not be run.