The investigation continues for the ferry Queen Jenuvia II which ran aground last week with 246 passengers and 21 crew members. The Mokpo Coast Guard, after the arrests of the bridge watch officer and the helmsman, requested an arrest warrant for the captain as well. All three sailors face the charge of gross negligence.
The Coast Guard reported it has already interrogated seven crew members of the ship, following the interrogation of the watch officer and the helmsman. According to media reports, the coast guard discovered that the captain was not on the ship’s bridge at all while it was sailing in the narrow and busy channel leading to the port of Mokpo.
According to reports, out of the 1000 times the ship had sailed into this specific port, the captain had been on the bridge very few times, which is considered a dereliction of duty. Media reports state the captain was in his cabin.
The ship of 26,000 gross tonnage, was sailing at a speed of approximately 20 knots as it approached Mokpo after the four-hour journey from the popular tourist destination Jeju Island. The bridge watch officer initially claimed the accident was due to a failure of the steering system, but later admitted he was distracted, reading news on his mobile phone.
It is recalled that the ship ran aground when it did not turn in time at a predetermined course change point. The latest count from the Coast Guard states that 78 people, including a pregnant woman, received medical assistance in hospitals after the incident.
Further investigations also confirmed that the helmsman was also distracted. Also, because the ship was sailing in a difficult area, narrow and with increased maritime traffic, manual steering was mandatory. However, it was sailing on autopilot.
The coast guard states it is also examining a wide range of information, including routine inspection checklists, operational management regulations, the safety management system, and crew training practices.
It is also investigating the Mokpo Regional Vessel Traffic Service Center, which is responsible for monitoring all ship traffic around the port. Media reports state that the coast guard wants to know why the controller did not detect that the ship was not on its normal course. The VTS monitors the ship’s speed and course.
Media reports state that the controller was focused on another large ship that was also off its normal course. Occupied with that ship, the controller did not notice that the Queen Jenuvia II was off its course.
Media reports state that the VTS center had deactivated the alarms for small fishing vessels under 20 meters in length, as they triggered the alarms too frequently.
The ship’s management company SeaWorld Express Ferry, in an online post, apologized. The company suspended the ship’s service until the end of the year, while stating it has initiated a full safety inspection.
The complacency of the bridge officer while having the con is one of the main causes of accidents concerning shipping. It happens very often on ships that perform the same trips and routes. Such ships are usually coastal vessels. The routine the crew falls into can often prove fatal. Attention and vigilance are required.
