Rabaul Queen

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Rabaul Queen
The Rabaul Queen entering Kimbe, March 16, 2009
The Rabaul Queen entering Kimbe, March 16, 2009
Ship data
flag JapanJapan Japan Papua New Guinea
Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea 
Ship type Passenger ferry
Callsign P2V4040
Owner Orspac Salvage,
Papua New Guinea
Launch 1983
Whereabouts dropped on February 2, 2012
Ship dimensions and crew
length
47.00 m ( Lüa )
measurement 259 GT
 
crew 12
Transport capacities
Load capacity 81 tdw
Others
Registration
numbers
IMO no. 8351297

The Rabaul Queen was a passenger ferry built in 1983. She sailed under the flag of Papua New Guinea , was owned by the Orspac Salvage shipping company in Papua New Guinea and operated under the Star Ships brand.

The ship initially sailed under the Japanese flag in Japan and was sold to Papua New Guinea in 1998. Since 2001 it has provided weekly liner service between Lae in New Guinea and Kimbe on the island of New Britain .

Downfall

Coordinates: 6 ° 31 ′ 5 ″  S , 147 ° 59 ′ 7 ″  E

Map: Papua New Guinea
marker
The sinking site of the
Rabaul Queen
Magnify-clip.png
Papua New Guinea

On Thursday, February 2, 2012, the Rabaul Queen capsized and sank at around 6 a.m. local time in a storm in the Solomon Sea about 9 nautical miles north-northeast of Finschhafen , on the east coast of the island of New Guinea, on the voyage from Kimbe to Lae, with several hundred Passengers and twelve crew members on board. The exact number of passengers was not yet known on February 2, 2012. According to a statement by the PNG Maritime Safety Authority, the ship was approved for up to 310 passengers. The shipping company said there were 350 passengers and 12 crew members on board, but surviving passengers said there were more than 500 people on board. According to passengers, one of the two ships' engines should have failed before the accident, so that the Rabaul Queen entered the dangerous strait with significantly reduced maneuverability in the storm. The water depth at the site of the accident is around one kilometer.

In the subsequent rescue operation, 15 ships and three helicopters , a Lockheed P-3 Orion of the Australian Air Force, two Dornier aircraft and a Careflight Learjet took part in the rescue operation . According to initial reports, 247 people were rescued from the ships by Monday, February 6. The PNG Maritime Rescue Coordination Center created drift models for the search for survivors of the disaster.

Estimated death toll

On February 10, 2012, Radio New Zealand reported that the number of those rescued had been adjusted to a total of 237 and that, according to requests from relatives, 321 people were still missing. That would mean there were 558 people on board, even though only 310 were allowed.

Web links

Footnotes

  1. Martin Cox: Passenger Ferry MV Rabaul Queen Sinks , Maritime Matters, February 1, 2012.
  2. ^ Equasis
  3. ^ Ferry Rabaul Queen sank in the Bismarck Sea, more than 300 missing , Maritime Bulletin, February 2, 2012.
  4. Radio New Zealand News (accessed February 3, 2012)
  5. Radio New Zealand News (accessed February 3, 2012)
  6. Nearly 250 of 362 saved from Papua New Guinea ship (English) , USA Today . February 3, 2012. Archived from the original on February 3, 2012. 
  7. CareFlight International Air Ambulance is an Australian non-profit organization founded in 1986 that operates an international air ambulance service.
  8. Message in ESYS from February 2, 2012
  9. “300 now feared dead in PNG ferry sinking,” Radio New Zealand News, February 11, 2012, accessed February 11, 2012