Investigators of Yacht Tragedy Seek to Inspect Cargo Ship

New Zealand officials and the U.S. Coast Guard want to inspect a cargo ship they suspect collided with a yacht, which sank, drowning a Santa Clarita man and his two small children.

The lone survivor of the tragedy, Judith Ann Sleavin, made an impassioned plea Friday for the ship’s captain and crew to cooperate with the investigation and, if responsible, accept blame for the loss of her family who had been on a world cruise.

“An unknown ship sank my yacht and left my family for dead, abandoned at sea,” Sleavin said in a statement released by her New Zealand lawyer. “My husband and I had planned for this journey for 10 years, but none of our foresight and safety training could prepare us for this catastrophe.”

The Sleavin family’s yacht Melinda Lee was hit and sank in stormy seas off the northern tip of New Zealand before dawn Nov. 24. Her husband, Michael, 42, and children Benjamin Thomas, 9, and Anna Rose, 7, drowned.

Judith Sleavin, 41, was washed up on a remote New Zealand beach after floating on an inflatable dinghy for two days. She is hospitalized with her back broken in three places.

The New Zealand Maritime Safety Authority said Friday the suspect ship, which is presently at sea, will undergo “a thorough examination” when it docks at its next port of call over the weekend.

The authority refused to name the ship or the port.

Judith Sleavin’s lawyer, Gerard Winter, said the U.S. Coast Guard also has sent a series of questions to the ship and its owners, but he knew of no response.

A marine engineering specialist and an investigator hired by Judith Sleavin will also try to inspect the vessel as soon as it reaches its destination, Winter said.

“If they refuse inspection . . . then legal action will be commenced regardless,” he said.

“It is our belief the vessel which struck the Melinda Lee knew it had hit the yacht. In these days with the sophistication of radar and radar locating systems it is extremely unlikely a collision at sea could happen without people knowing.”