Survivor says ferry was overcrowded

THE passenger ferry mv Rabaul Queen, which sank last Feb, was overcrowded and no safety instructions were given to passengers, a survivor told the commission of inquiry in Port Moresby yesterday.
The much-anticipated inquiry opened in Port Moresby yesterday, 10 weeks after the ferry, plying the Rabaul to Lae route, sank nine nautical miles of the coast of Finschhafen, Morobe province in the early hours of Feb 2. Only 237  people were rescued.
Heading the inquiry was Justice Andrew Warwick with lawyers Mal Varitimo and Emmanuel Asigau assisting.
Rabaul Shipping owner Peter Sharp was represented by Erick Anderson from Gadens Lawyers. 
University of Papua New Guinea student, George Turme, 21, from East New Britain, was the first survivor to appear before the commission.
He told the hearing which will be held for three days at Muruk House that he got on the ship at Rabaul and was returning to Lae when the ship encountered rough seas and sank just off the coast of Finschhafen.
He gave a brief account of how he managed to jump off the sinking ship and swam in the open sea to find a life raft.
The science foundation student told the commission that the ship was overcrowded. He estimated that there were about 500 people on board.
There were no safety instructions given out before the ship left for Lae and it was difficult to identify the ship’s crew as they were not wearing uniforms.
He said there were life jackets on the ferry but there was not enough to cater for everybody including the mothers and children on board.
Varitimos asked Turme to carefully recall where he saw the life jackets stored.
Turme said the lifejackets were in an enclosed area which was locked with a padlock.
Asked if he had any idea what caused the disaster, Turme said that he had no clue how the ship sank.
Asked if he had any suggestion that would help ships from facing similar situations in the future, Turme said that shipping crews must follow the same safety procedures as aircraft crew.