Inquiry Into The 'Joyita' Mystery

Commission Assembles Evidence

The first week of the inquiry into what happened aboard Joyita between October 3 and November 10, produced no positive evidence as to the fate of the 25 persons on board. But some feasible theories were advanced by witnesses.

fTIHE Commission of Inquiry into JL the fate of the 70 tons, twin engined motorship Joyita, and the circumstances under which she sailed, began its sittings in Apia, Western Samoa, on February 3.

The Commission was constituted by the NZ Government, and it con sists of Chief Judge C. C. Marsack, of Western Samoa; Captain A. H.

Prosser, formerly master of the Tofua, and well known in Polynesian navigation; and Mr. C. G. R. McKay, formerly Government Secretary in Western Samoa, and now retired, and a member of the South Pacific Commission. They are assisted by Mr. B. L. Bridger (NZ Justice De partment), who is secretary of the Commission, and Mr. R. K. Davison, a barrister, who will advise the Commission.

It is believed that the sittings of the Commission in Apia will extend over three or four weeks. The in quiry is open to the public. The Commission is to report to the NZ Government by March 31.

Joyita, 70 tons, left Apia, W.

Samoa, for the Tokelaus (a 40-hrs. voyage) on October 3. When she became overdue, a sea and air search was instituted but the vessel was not seen again until November 10, when half-submerged, drifting and abandoned, she was found 90 miles due north of Fiji. Air-search was resumed for survivors, but no trace has been found. Miss E. K.

Luomala of Honolulu is understood to be the largest shareholder.

Joyita is registered in Honolulu.

Mr. Davison outlined the evid ence he proposed to bring before the Commission, and he made the fol lowing points: The Administration officials in Western Samoa did not have the power to prevent the Joyita from sailing. She was an overseas ship, registered in Honolulu.

She left port with a faulty engine and radio; although she had no license to carry passengers, she did in fact carry nine passengers; and she carried no lifeboat. The cap tain said he would repair his engine at sea.

Experts who examined the Joyita in Fiji found that the engine and cooling system were defective and parts were missing; the radio was defective and its batteries were weak; water was thought to have entered the engine-room through a rusty and broken pipe.

There were 40 lifejackets and two

rafts aboard when she sailed but they were not aboard when she was picked up.

Dealing with the flood of sensa tional stories circulated when the Joyita was picked up in November, Mr. Davison said there was no evid ence to show looting or murder by Japanese or anyone else; no evid ence of fire, or ramming or of col lision. Mr. Davison said: “This Commission may well come to the conclusion that the Joyita’s crew jettisoned the cargo to lighten the vessel.”

Among cargo missing from Joyita’s

There was an ecclesiastical flavour about a report of the "Joyita" inquiry in the Sydney "Daily Mirror" on February 9. in reporting the evidence of a radio expert (from Nadi, Fiji) it was said: "He is Herbert Bellamore Nandi, who said a conference discounted the message because no other station had received it. Nandi was giving evidence on the fourth day of the inquiry ..."

Well, Bishops sign themselves "Stanley Polynesia", or "John Timbuktu" so why shouldn't a radio operator be known as "Herbert Nadi"?

hold were 50 sacks of flour, 15 of sugar, 10 of rice and 40 tins of kero sene. This fact, and the absence of 2 rafts and 40 lifebelts known to be aboard, suggested that the crew jettisoned cargo in an attempt to keep the ship afloat, before they left in the rafts and lifebelts.

Radio specialists found the trans mitter tuned to the distress or SOS frequency, which indicated that when catastrophe struck, the operator had been trying to give a distress signal.

Joyita took 2,640 gallons of fuel aboard, and 2,332 gallons were still there when she was found.

Charge Refuted

On January 13, the Depart ment of Island Territories refuted a suggestion made by a Suva newspaper that the New Zealand Government was exceeding its rights in holding an inquiry concerning a foreign vessel without the permission of the owners of the vessel.

The Government had been in close consultation with the authorities in Honolulu, Joyita’s home port, the statement said, and those authorities had been in close touch with the owner or owners.

The American authorities had been

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Ipful in providing details of the ssel’s earlier history and informa n of use to the commission of luiry. Allegations that the :hts of American citizens had sn ignored were without founda n.

)Rmer Engineer’S Theory

Jost important evidence before 1 Commission, up to February 9, s by R. L. Sutherland, of Suva, o was engineer on Joyita up to • last voyage. le had examined the ship after vage, and he was convinced that ' key to the ship’s fate was pro ed by a rusted and broken pipe galvanised iron, which had med a connection between the -cock and the cooling system on auxiliary engine. It had corroded the port bilge below the floor; i, with the sea-cock open, water posed to be going through to the ling system would actually be sing through into the engine m. This was his theory: believe the engine-room became flooded down below in the darkness the crew eked.

Fo stop the leak the engineers cut off flow of water to the cooling system of auxiliary engine. The auxiliary engine became heated and the engineers stopped lext, the engineers started up the emergency liary engine to get the electric pump into in and keep on top of the water leak, lut the auxiliary was probably not in er working order, so they decided to use bilge pump which is run off the main ie. But the bilge pump does not work, low to find out what was causing a cage in the bilge pump—it was always g minor trouble—they stopped the main ie and investigated.

Yith the engine idle 'Joyita' would drift earn. The seas would rock her and pour hrough the hatch. ill the time the water is rushing in the ie room. low the batteries become wet. The lights ut. he radio is run off the batteries and with power they cannot send an SOS."

No Radio Signal

pia Radio Superintendent, Ernest ham, said that from the time ita left, she was never in com aication with Apia. Captain Miller agreed to contact him at 10 a.m. 4 p.m. daily. On October 9 days after Joyita left —he picked faint signals but could not tively identify them as from the Ita.

Witnesses From Fiji

he following persons from Fiji needed to Apia, Western Samoa, February 5, by special plane, to evidence about the Joyita lap; iptain E. L. James, assistant lourmaster, Suva.

R. Hayman, radio inspector, a.

L. Cronin, mechanical engineer.

C. F. Wooley, Department of Customs.

R. L. Sutherland, former engineer on Joyita.

A. E. Jones, District Officer, Northern.

H. W. H. Bellamore, of Nadi air port.

Plea For Further Search

Mr. P. L. M. Morgan, a member of the W. Samoan Legislative As sembly, urged that a sea and air search for Joyita survivors be re sumed —it was stopped far too soon.

With so much deck cargo, including timber and empty drums, the Joyita should have left a broad trail—but not one thing identifiable as deck cargo had been found. Mr. Morgan thought that was significant.

Harbourmaster J. W. Jones thought that more evidence about Joyita would appear; and gave in stances of people being found in that area after drifting for 42 days and 107 days. He calculated, by the amount of fuel used by Joyita, that

she had broken down 6 or 7 hours out of Apia, and just out of sight of Savaii. He said he had no ex planation to offer as to what hap pened, but continued: “No man in his right mind is go ing to leave a floating vessel and board a raft with unknown perils facing him unless he is sure of his chances of reaching something better.

“I do not believe the crew could have persuaded the passengers to leave Joyita for rafts unless they could actually see land.’ T The inquiry ended on February 13. In his final address, Mr. R. K. Davidson said the "Joyita" was no longer a mystery, and that the key to the whole disaster was the fracture of the pipe carrying cooling sea-water to the engine.

Mr. Davidson believed that the ship was lightened by jettisoning cargo. There was little evidence to make a conclusion about the survivors.

The charter by Capt. Miller to Coxons was illegal as the owner had stipulated that Miller should not sub-charter without the approval of US maritime authorities.