Hong Kong court to decide on inquest into 2012 fatal ferry sinking

A judge of the High Court of Hong Kong is set to issue a ruling on whether the local coroner should commence an inquest into the sinking of a passenger vessel in an incident that claimed dozens of lives nearly 10 years ago, local news outlet The Standard has confirmed.

Earlier this week, three people appeared before judge Russell Coleman to call for an inquest. The three were relatives of some of the 39 people on the passenger ferry Lamma IV who were killed when their vessel sank after being struck by another ferry near Hong Kong’s Lamma Island on October 1, 2012.

A group of lawyers representing the families of four of the victims meanwhile told the High Court that additional police investigations have yielded new evidence warranting the inquest.

One investigation revealed that Cheoy Lee Shipyards, which built Lamma IV, had failed to equip the ferry with a watertight door. The omission of this door is said to have contributed to the water ingress that caused people to be trapped on board the vessel as it sank.

Mr Coleman is due to issue a written judgment by the end of October 2022.