Sewol’s captain under fire for fleeing sinking ship

Posted on : 2014-04-18 11:05 KST Modified on : 2014-04-18 11:05 KST
Captain and crew’s botched response to sinking appears to have lead to greater casualties
 Apr. 17. (Yonhap News)
Apr. 17. (Yonhap News)

By Ahn Kwan-ok and Kim Young-dong, Gwangju and Busan correspondents, in Mokpo

News that the captain and crew of the Sewol passenger ferry fled the sinking ship early on rather than helping passengers is generating an angry reaction among from family members and the South Korean public.

Of the crew members, only 22-year-old Park Ji-young gave up her life vest to stay with the passengers - at the cost of her own life. One student said of her, “If she hadn’t have been there, I don’t know what would have happened to me.”

Evidence that surfaced on Apr. 17 indicates the Sewol’s chief engineer told several crew members to evacuate, even as the captain was broadcasting a message for passengers to wait until further notice.

The vessel’s assistant engineer, identified by the surname Park, said in a media interview that he received a call from the chief engineer at around 8:50 am, just before the first accident report at 8:58 am.

“He said to evacuate the engine room right away, and three people evacuated,” Park said.

Park’s testimony suggest that the crewmembers who were first to know about the accident prepared for their own evacuation before alerting passengers. Indeed, a few crewmembers were among the first to be rescued.

Rescued passengers talked about having heard five to six announcements instructing them to remain in place, before a final announcement telling them to evacuate.

“When the vessel tilted, I dashed over to the wheelhouse, and the captain was leaning against the door repeatedly telling people to wait over the loudspeaker,” said helmsman Oh Yong-seok, 58, in a phone interview with the Hankyoreh. “A Coast Guard boat was up against the bow, and we went out together.” The first Coast Guard rescue boat arrived at 9:40 am. The captain and six crew members left the ship onto a Coast Guard boat at 9:50 am.

The Coast Guard began questioning the captain, 69-year-old Lee Joon-seok, as a witness on the evening of Apr. 16. By the next day, he was being questioned as a suspect.

When asked by the press for a comment to family members of the missing passengers on Apr. 17, he replied, “I am sorry, and I have nothing to say for myself. There is nothing I can say to them.”

Lee did not respond to questions about deviations in the ferry’s course or the time of his evacuation. The Coast Guard said it was considering charging him with involuntary manslaughter while working, vessel abandonment, and violation of the Seafarers Act.

South Korean law explicitly requires a captain to remain with the vessel to the end. Articles 10 and 11 of the Seafarers Act state, “A captain shall not leave his/her ship from the time cargoes are loaded or passengers start to go on board until the time all cargoes are unloaded or all passengers leave his/her ship. At times when a ship is in critical danger, a captain shall take all measures necessary to rescue human lives, the ship and cargoes.”

A captain found guilty of violating this provision by failing to take necessary measures to rescue passengers or crew may face up to five years in prison.

CMC Lines, which operated the Sewol, also received a permit from the Coast Guard based on its own separately drafted operational management regulations. The regulations are reported to include sea route plans and information on the safety management system, as well as measures to be taken in the event of a maritime accident or other emergency, but neither CMC Lines nor the Coast Guard has released them.

“If the captain judges the situation to be an emergency, the crew is responsible for emergency duties,” said Mokpo National University professor Yang Won. “Once the order to withdraw comes, the crewmembers are supposed to put the life rafts and life boats into the water straight away and to leave the vessel last.”

“This procedure is part of the crew’s duties, and it appears that the delay in making a decision resulted in greater losses,” Yang added.

 

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]

button that move to original korean article (클릭시 원문으로 이동하는 버튼)