Tonga ferry hearing imminent

A hearing is imminent for the three men charged with manslaughter following the sinking of the doomed Tongan ferry Princess Ashika.

The ferry sank during an overnight voyage from the Tongan capital Nuku'alofa to an outlying island in August last year, killing 74 people.

Earlier this year, a Royal Commission of Inquiry in Tonga found the government failed its people by buying a boat that was obviously unseaworthy.

In March, police charged Shipping Corporation of Polynesia managing director John Jonesse, Princess Ashika captain Makahokovalu Tuputupu and first mate Viliami Tu'ipulotu with manslaughter and with sending an unseaworthy vessel to sea.

The editor of the Matangi Tonga newspaper, Pesi Fonua, covered the 54-day trial, and told AAP on Friday a hearing would be held in Tonga for the three men in the "next few weeks".

Meanwhile, New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission (TAIC) officially published a report on Thursday covering its technical investigation into the incident.

TAIC found the Tongan ferry had "major deficiencies" and should not have been allowed to operate.

"The Princess Ashika was unseaworthy when it departed on the accident voyage and should not have been issued with a certificate allowing it to operate under any circumstances until major deficiencies had been rectified," the report said.

The report, which was referred to as evidence in the Royal Commission of Inquiry, found the death toll was so high because of a delay in raising the alarm and the absence of an emergency abandon ship drill.

The Royal Commission's findings were widely circulated in April and a spokesman for TAIC, Peter Northcote, said there was "no reason" for the three-month delay in posting the Kiwi investigations.

On Thursday, TAIC also released a report into a separate investigation in the Pacific - an ill-equipped, overloaded out-rigger canoe that capsized off Kiribati, killing 35 people.

"We dealt with both those Pacific reports at the same time," Mr Northcoat said.

The report found that all but two of the passengers would probably have survived if the boat had had adequate safety gear.

Marine accident investigator, Captain Iain Hill, said the report recommends more resources for the Kiribati Marine Division.

- AAP