Australia - 'Death ship' inquest reveals missing cook's secret statement

A NSW coroner's court in Glebe has heard how a missing cook on the Japanese-owned carrier Sage Sagittarius had a secret statement on his laptop with allegations of gun-running and crew assaults by the captain, Venancio Salas.

Three crew members died or disappeared mysteriously in 2012, leading to the ship being nicknamed 'the death ship'. The inquest is investigating the (presumed) death of the cook, Cesar Llanto, and the chief engineer in a fall, shortly after. An investigator sent aboard was then crushed by a conveyor belt as the ship made its way to Newcastle in Australia.

Filipino Cpt Salas gave evidence via videolink, where he admitted he'd made a 'small' commission helping crew buy guns, and that he learned his cook was about to make a complaint, the day before the cook disappeared.

http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/death-shi...misconduct-on-his-laptop-20150529-ghcd80.html

The ship's Japan-owned but flying under the Panama flag, the missing crew member and the Cpt are from the Philippines and the death investigations are taking place in Australia. I suspect this will never be resolved.

So many ships fly under a Panama flag without having any connection to the country - it just seems like a way of avoiding responsibility for running a safe, orderly ship to me.