A Hong Kong court is expected to hear over 250 testimonies about the 2012 Lamma ferry crash that killed 39 people, as an inquest into the tragedy began on Tuesday.
The inquest at the coroner’s court is slated to last 60 days, during which 166 testimonies will be read out, according to local media. Ninety-two witnesses will also testify either in person or via video link to recount the tragedy that happened almost 13 years ago, the reports said.
On October 1, 2012, the ferry Lamma IV collided with another vessel, Sea Smooth, off Lamma Island, leaving 39 people dead and 92 others injured.
Lamma IV, which had 126 passengers on board, was chartered by the Hong Kong Electric Company to take staff to watch the National Day Fireworks Display in the harbour. The regular passenger ferry Sea Smooth, operated by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Company, had more than 100 people on board.
Coroner Monica Chow said on Tuesday that the inquest was intended to discern the facts and would not determine civil or criminal liabilities, according to local media reports.
But the hearing would hopefully provide transparency and closure for family members of those who died in the incident, she added.
Verbal testimonies of staff members of the Hong Kong Electric Company were read out during the proceedings on Tuesday, including that of a staff member surnamed Lai, who organised the fireworks viewing event on that day.
According to his testimony given to the police, no crew members of Lamma IV or passengers had consumed alcohol that night, adding that the vessel’s speed was “normal,” while Sea Smooth was cruising at a “rather high” speed.
Captain of Lamma IV, Chow Chi-wai, told the police that he turned his vessel to starboard in an attempt to keep away from Sea Smooth after he saw the boat coming towards Lamma IV. But Sea Smooth rammed into the port side of Lamma IV about a minute after he spotted the ship, Chow said.
The captain, who was sentenced to nine months behind bars in 2015 for endangering others’ safety at sea, declined to answer police questions about whether his vessel had enough crew members to ensure safety, as well as those about the details of the incident.
The first witness is expected to take the stand on Thursday, local media reports said.
‘Long overdue’ closure
Families of the victims had demanded an inquest over the ferry crash for years as they sought transparency in the investigation.
The coroner’s court in 2020 decided it would not investigate the incident – a decision that was challenged by some families but upheld by the city’s High Court.
In 2023, the Court of Appeal overturned the decision and ordered the inquest, with three judges ruling that the open court proceedings could bring “long overdue” closure for the families.
The judges also outlined six issues to be resolved at the inquest, including whether the Marine Department had failed to identify faults in the construction and design of both vessels during its regular inspections.
Lai Sai-ming, the captain of Sea Smooth, was jailed for eight years in 2015 for 39 counts of manslaughter and for endangering others’ safety at sea.
