Navy Clearance Divers Complete Mission In Tonga

Navy Clearance Divers Complete Mission In Tonga

The Tongan Government has advised Australia that the assistance provided by Royal Australian Navy Clearance Divers to help search for the MV Princess Ashika is now complete.

This follows an announcement on Wednesday that the joint Tongan, Australian and New Zealand naval task force assigned to search for and, if possible, recover bodies from the vessel had identified its location.

Sonar Imagery from the Royal New Zealand Navy’s REMUS (Remote Environment Measuring Underwater System) detachment revealed a vessel on the ocean floor with dimensions matching those of the ferry which sank in waters South West of Nomuka in the Ha’apai group of islands.

The vessel is sitting in 110m of water, and has a bow section, bridge, passenger accommodation and cargo bays matching those of the MV Princess Ashika.

At a depth of 110m, the vessel is beyond the capability of the Clearance Dive Team. They will now return to their base at HMAS Waterhen.

Executive Officer of the Australian Clearance Dive Team One, Lieutenant Ben Fennell, says his team wishes they could have done more.

“I am very pleased that we could assist the Tongan people in their time of need and I only wish that we could have done more to help with the recovery of their loved ones,” said Lieutenant Fennell.

The Royal New Zealand Navy will now attempt to obtain visual identification early next week with a special underwater vessel that can capture video at depth.

ENDS

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