Archives New Zealand: Series IT1, Department of Island Territories
Record: Wreck of M.V. Joyita (Inquiry Report)
Date: 1956
Canonical URL: https://catalog.archives.govt.nz/id/23579122

REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO THE CASUALTY TO THE MOTOR VESSEL "JOYITA"
To His Excellency the Governor-General of New Zealand.
May it please Your Excellency:
Under the terms of reference dated 4 January 1956, we have held a formal inquiry into the circumstances surrounding the casualty to the motor vessel Joyita. The inquiry opened at Apia, Western Samoa, on 3 February 1956, and concluded on 22 February 1956, after hearing evidence from 28 witnesses.

FINDINGS OF THE COMMISSION:
1. The vessel Joyita was unseaworthy when she departed Apia on 3 October 1955. She was operating on only one engine due to a failed clutch on the port main engine, and she carried no functioning radio transmitter due to a break in the aerial connection.
2. The flooding of the ship was caused by the fracture of a pipe in the cooling system of the port auxiliary engine, which let seawater flood the bilge.
3. The bilge pumps were blocked with debris and unserviceable, and the ship lacked watertight subdivisions, allowing the water to flood the engine room and lower deck.
4. The list and low draft caused the vessel to lose power and fall beam-on to the sea, making steering impossible.
5. The abandonment of the vessel was inexplicable on the evidence submitted. The vessel was virtually unsinkable due to her cork-lined cargo holds, and would have remained afloat indefinitely. The liferafts and dinghy were launched, but no trace of the 25 passengers and crew has been found.

Dated at Apia, Western Samoa, this 14th day of February 1956.
C. C. MARSACK, Chairman.
C. G. R. MCKAY, Member.
J. FORBES, Member.