The Papua New Guinea government has made available $US 230,000 to progress the MV Rabaul Queen ferry disaster trial.
The Rabaul Queen Photo: Supplied
The ferry sank off Morobe on 2nd of February 2012, killing 172 people.
On trial are the ferry owner Captain Peter Sharp and his captain Anthony Tsiau who are both facing 172 charges of manslaughter, and sending or taking an unseaworthy vessel out to sea.
The judge had summoned top officials to explain the non-allocation of funds to the police and Public Prosecutor's Office to ensure the completion of the trial.
They confirmed that money was released, with one official claiming he only knew about the funding problem when he received the court order to appear in the Kokopo court.
He said he had never received any request for funding from the Police Commissioner or the Public Prosecutor to enable them to bring in key witnesses for the trial.