Papua New Guinea police in Kokopo have charged the chief mate of the Rabaul Queen with manslaughter and sending an unseaworthy vessel to sea.
The ship sank in February last year off the coast of Morobe province with police saying 162 people lost their lives.
The newspaper, The National, reports that the chief mate, Michael Zirau, who is from Manam Island, was the first officer on the vessel captained by Anthony Tsiau who was charged with the same offences last Friday.
Last week, the owner of Rabaul Shipping, Peter Sharp, was charged with 162 counts of manslaughter and one for taking an unseaworthy ship to sea.
The Kimbe port manager for Rabaul Shipping, Grace Amen, and the National Maritime Safety Authority's Kimbe manager, Michael Benjamin Livinai, are also facing charges.
