Weatherman denies faxing wind reports

THE PNG National Weather Service told the commission of inquiry that it had no record of faxing wind conditions to Rabaul Shipping between late January and early February.
The inquiry is collating information on the sinking of the mv Rabaul Queen owned by Peter Sharp in heavy seas nine nautical miles off Finschhafen in Morobe province on Feb 2.
Assistant weather service director Jimmy Gamoga told Mal Varitimos, the lawyer assisting the inquiry, last Friday that their office fax only kept reports for up to 24 hours.
Gamoga said he went to Telikom to get a copy and found that none of the fax sent through had gone to Rabaul Shipping or Star Shipping.
He said he later found out that none of the fax numbers were registered for Rabaul Shipping and Star Shipping. “Typically, when we send out a warning or forecast, we actually send it through fax.”