[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Tae-in] An accident occurred where a tugboat waiting after dredging work sank in Gunsan Inner Harbor.
The Gunsan Coast Guard Station (Chief Park Sang-sik) announced that at 1:14 a.m. on the 20th, a 32-ton tugboat A, which was anchored about 1 km north of Geumrando, Haemang-dong, Gunsan-si, Jeonbuk, sank.
According to the captain of A, the vessel involved in the accident was a ship deployed for dredging work. After completing the work, it was waiting in nearby waters when, during low tide, the boat tilted and ran aground (좌주, grounding on a shallow or sandy bottom), then as the tide rose, the boat quickly sank.
At the time of the accident, Captain Lee (55 years old) and two crew members were on board A, but fortunately, all were rescued by a 52-ton tugboat that was also anchored nearby before the boat sank.
There were no casualties from the accident, but some oil carried on the vessel leaked, prompting the coast guard to urgently carry out containment operations.
The oil leaked through the fuel tank vent during the sinking of A was assessed to be a small amount, and thanks to the prompt response of the coast guard, no additional pollution damage occurred.
A representative of the Gunsan Coast Guard said, “Because the tidal range on the 20th was very large, the boat touched the bottom during low tide and sank due to strong currents during high tide,” adding, “We will promptly salvage the boat to investigate the exact cause of the accident and simultaneously carry out containment operations to prevent the spread of pollution.”
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