A ferry that is partly owned by the Bougainville government and is a replacement for the Rabaul Queen makes its first voyage today.
Photo: supplied
The Rabaul Queen sank off the Lae coast nearly three years ago with the loss of 173 lives, many of them students from Bougainville travelling to the Papua New Guinea mainland.
The new vessel is the MV Chebu and it arrived in Buka on a delivery trip from the Philippines yesterday.
A Port Moresby-based businessman, Henry Chow, has co-financed the ship's purchase.
It will travel between Lae, Rabaul and Buka and has a capacity of 375 passengers.
