Three seamen on board a Japanese coal carrier known as the ‘‘death ship’’, which docked in Port Kembla in 2012, were killed in six weeks amid a climate of ‘‘intense conflict and mutual mistrust’’, an inquest has heard.
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One man vanished overboard, another fell down a staircase, and the third was crushed to death on a conveyor belt.
An inquest at Glebe Coroner’s Court in Sydney is examining two of those deaths, which occurred as the Sage Sagittarius was en route to Australia from Japan.
The coal ship was scheduled to load in Newcastle in mid-September 2012, but was diverted by autorities and docked in Port Kembla on September 7.
Deputy State Coroner Sharon Freund was told two Filipino seamen, chief cook Cesar Llanto and chief engineer Hector Collado, died within two weeks of each other in August and September 2012.
Mr Llanto, an experienced 42-year-old seaman, vanished overboard on August 30, 2012 as the vessel approached Australian waters northeast of Cairns.
Mr Collado died on September 14 after suffering a fall while the ship was moored at Newcastle.
Then a Japanese superintendent, who had boarded the vessel in Australia because of the deaths, died while it was docked in southern Japan on October 6, 2012.
Counsel assisting the coroner Philip Strickland spoke of a ‘‘culture of silence’’ among the 25 crew members and said the investigation was ‘‘mired in controversy’’.
The court heard tensions erupted on the ship surrounding Captain Venancio Salas Jr’s treatment of a gay kitchen hand who was allegedly the subject of ‘‘extensive bullying’’.
Jessie Martinez was regularly intimidated and assaulted by the ship’s captain, who once punched him so hard in the kidney he struggled to breathe for days, Mr Strickland said.
He said Mr Llanto, who acted as a ‘‘big brother’’ to Mr Martinez, may have been involved in a plan to report the captain to the International Transport Worker’s Federation in Australia.
‘‘There is strong evidence that this intense conflict was continuing and if not magnified on the very day of Mr Llanto’s disappearance,’’ Mr Strickland said.
But an internal investigation and police statements from Capt Salas suspected ‘‘foul play’’ by an oiler named Raul Vercede, who initially instructed Mr Martinez to report the captain for misconduct.
The inquest continues.
AAP
