Tongan police warn ferry dead may never be found

Poor weather in Tonga means it could be Wednesday before divers are able to resume the search for the Tongan ferry Princess Ashika, which sank last week with 93 people presumed to be trapped inside.

Tongan police and divers are warning the ship may never be found and even if it is, it could be too deep to recover any bodies.

There were an estimated 149 people on board when the ferry slipped into the sea, 86km northeast of the Tongan capital of Nuku'alofa.

Two bodies and 54 survivors have been found, while 93 people are presumed drowned after being trapped in the vessel. They include 33 women and 10 children, who were sleeping on the lower indoor decks.

A team of New Zealand and Australian navy divers did exploratory dives with remote equipment yesterday.

They had hoped to expand that search area today to investigate an oil source but poor weather forced them to abandon the search.

Royal New Zealand Navy commanding officer Lieutenant Commander Andrew McMillan told NZPA the dive team hoped to get out on the water late tomorrow but the weather forecast was poor for tomorrow as well.

Waves between two and three metres meant they could not launch their boat.

Divers are using the same equipment that was used in the search for helicopter pilot Morgan Saxton in Lake Wanaka last year but this search was very different, he said.

The 50m ship had sunk in difficult undersea topography, with depths ranging from 35-800m. Their equipment was only effective to 115m at the most.

Lt Cdr McMillan said it was like searching for a car parked on an area the size of five or six rugby fields in complete darkness and only allowed to look for it with a flashlight pointed directly on the ground.

"It needs to be approached in a measured way, it's not something you can rush," Lt Cdr McMillan said.

The New Zealand Navy sh ip Manawanui was on its way and if the Princess Ashika was found it would help in any attempts to retrieve bodies. However, any retrieval would depend on the depth of the wreckage, as divers could only go to a depth of 50m, he said.

Meanwhile, debate is raging in Tonga about the seaworthiness of the Princess Ashika, which was bought by the government-owned Shipping Corporation of Polynesia, from Fiji just two months earlier.

The MV Pulupaki was the first ship to arrive at the scene and pulled survivors from the water.

Its owner, Tu'i Uata, said the Princess Ashika "was in bad shape", Radio New Zealand reported.

Workers trying to take rust out of it when it first arrived in Tonga were able to punch their hammers through the hull of the lower deck, he said.

Many community leaders have also claimed the ferry had a poor reputation in Fiji and was to be sold for scrap metal.

A leading journalist said Tongans had a "bad feeling" about the boat while a pro-democracy politician said it did not have a current marine licence.

But Tonga's transport minister Paul Karalus said this claim was "absolutely untrue" and said the boat had proven its seaworthiness prior to the tragedy.

"We are confident that the actual (maritime safety) requirements internationally are met and that is subject to audit," he told Radio New Zealand.

Tongan Police Commander Chris Kelley told NZPA he was not confident all the people aboard were accounted for and the final toll of 93 missing people could rise.

Police would release names of the missing people in blocks as they were able to confirm they were on the ship, he said.

Hundreds of relatives gathered in the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa last night for candle-lit prayer vigils to mark the tragedy with members of the royal family.

Missing from the vigils was King Tupou V, who surprised many by leaving for a Scottish holiday soon after the disaster.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said it was obviously a huge tragedy for the Tongan people and he had expressed the Government's deepest condolences to the people of Tonga.

"New Zealand has already sent the vessel Manawanui, a dive team, the underwater search vehicle, the air force aircraft, including a Hercules, a coroner and a number of other personnel are going up.

"I hope to speak to Prime Minister Fred Sevele either today or tomorrow.

"New Zealand stands ready to offer whatever further assistance is deemed appropriate."

- NZPA