Rabaul Queen owner Peter Sharp to face PNG court over ferry sinking

By PNG correspondent Liam Fox

The owner of a ferry that sank in Papua New Guinea last year is due to appear in court on today, charged with more than 160 counts of manslaughter.

Police yesterday arrested Captain Peter Sharp, the managing director of Rabaul Shipping, the operator of the Rabaul Queen that sank in February last year.
The expatriate Australian has been charged with negligence, operating an unseaworthy ship and 162 counts of manslaughter, one for every fatality that police have confirmed.
Tommy Yep's son was one of the lucky survivors and he says Captain Sharp's arrest is long overdue.
"We will at least get some sense of closure knowing that the person responsible for this disaster is going to face his day in court," he said.
"That goes towards the healing process."
Last year, a Commission of Inquiry found the ferry was unsafe, unseaworthy and overloaded.