# Ferry Master Jailed



## Binnacle (Jul 22, 2005)

(Read)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ollowing-Papua-New-Guinea-ferry-disaster.html


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## Cisco (Jan 29, 2007)

Good!!


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good day binnacle,sm.yesterday.19:32.re:ferry master jailed. I have watched your very dramatic link.the captain has a lot to answer for.to those who lost there lives,may they rest in peace,thank you for posting,regards ben27


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## Lurch (Jul 29, 2011)

Whilst acting as owner the failure was in not having safe manning rendering the vessel unseaworthy.

See here

The master had a habit of losing vessels.


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## Dickyboy (May 18, 2009)

A sever conflict of interests here, by having the Master who is also the ship owner. 
How can a Master, concerned with navigation and safety consider the maximum profit of a ship owner? If you see what I mean? Surely a Master should be a sort of Middle Man between the vessel and the owner? This man appears to have put profit before his profession.


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## John Rogers (May 11, 2004)

That report is kind of confusing,it states it was issued a certificate of seawothyness and concludes the ship was not. A good lawyer will get him off.


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## Mad Landsman (Dec 1, 2005)

See previous thread:

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/showthread.php?t=43140&highlight=Rabaul+Queen

And this:


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## chadburn (Jun 2, 2008)

Dickyboy said:


> A sever conflict of interests here, by having the Master who is also the ship owner.
> How can a Master, concerned with navigation and safety consider the maximum profit of a ship owner? If you see what I mean? Surely a Master should be a sort of Middle Man between the vessel and the owner? This man appears to have put profit before his profession.


A situation that has been on many Dutch Coasters/Clogs for years when they traded across the North Sea and sometimes beyond, the incentive to keep their vessels seaworthy/safe was that they had their families onboard.


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## Dickyboy (May 18, 2009)

chadburn said:


> A situation that has been on many Dutch Coasters/Clogs for years when they traded across the North Sea and sometimes beyond, the incentive to keep their vessels seaworthy/safe was that they had their families onboard.


I'm not trying to say that all Skipper/Owners are solely interested in profit at the cost of safety, and I can't say anything about the Dutch at all. But families have been lost at sea before on coastal vessels.
I wonder if This particular Skipper/Owner was the regular Skipper of this ferry, or whether he was just doing a single trip, and took a chance that things would go well. If he was the full time Skipper then perhaps even more responsibility was his, being both Skipper AND Owner. Two separate levels of responsibility perhaps?


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## John Briggs (Feb 12, 2006)

Peter Sharp was well known as a ship owner in PNG.
He was not Master on the ferry but was the owner/operator.


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## wantok (Dec 16, 2005)

*Rabaul Queen*



John Briggs said:


> Peter Sharp was well known as a ship owner in PNG.
> He was not Master on the ferry but was the owner/operator.


John is right and both Peter and his brother Hamish have a long history in shipping in PNG with Hamish the owner of Bismark Shipping which has a history of losing vessels and operating old poorly maintained ships.

Hamish was at one time a ship owner and also the Chairman of the PNG National Maritime Safety Authority which was very controversial at the time and subject to Government enquiry. 

PNG relies on sea travel to a much greater extent than most countries and unfortunately many people are lost at sea mainly travelling on small outboard powered "banana boats" which often undertake long open water passages.


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## Dickyboy (May 18, 2009)

John Briggs said:


> Peter Sharp was well known as a ship owner in PNG.
> He was not Master on the ferry but was the owner/operator.


Thanks John "The Mail" does say "Sea Captain" But not that he was Captain of the ferry. I just assumed.......  One has to read the Mail VERY carefully doesn't one!


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## John Briggs (Feb 12, 2006)

A quite understandable assumption Dick. Particularly as the title of the thread is Ferry Master Jailed!


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## Leratty (Jun 3, 2012)

Mad Landsman, just read that advert amazing. 3rd para makes one speechless that he could have it printed. One would have thought that would make any applicant think twice before applying, especially the bit "anything more than two pages & it will be automatically shredded." Does he have a shredder with a numerical brain? Crikey the section opening up the position to females was also interesting wonder if any female would consider applying after reading it? It should be put to a female lib person for comment


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## kauvaka (Oct 11, 2009)

Yes, thank you Mad Landsman. The advert says it all about Peter Sharp doesn't it.


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