21 Aug 2013

Further Rabaul Queen arrests expected in PNG

1:23 pm on 21 August 2013

Further arrests are expected in Papua New Guinea after police yesterday charged the owner of the Rabaul Queen ferry which sank off Morobe 18 months ago.

The sinking claimed at least 141 lives, many of them from Bougainville, but the exact death toll is still not known because the ship's manifest was not reliable.

Peter Sharp is due to appear in the Kokopo District Court today - facing 162 counts of manslaughter, criminal negligence and taking an unseaworthy ship to sea.

Our correspondent in Papua New Guinea, Todagia Kelola, says in a statement police said anybody found to have acted in a criminal way leading up to the sinking will be arrested.

"The captain of the ship that went down is expected to be questioned and he may be arrested along with three other government officials at the National Martime and Safety Authority based in Rabaul and maybe surviving crew members of the ship that went down."

Todagia Kelola says there is a sense of relief in PNG that someone is being held to account.