Jeju Coast Guard Rescues Panama-Flagged Cargo Ship Adrift in Crisis

Unable to Navigate Due to Debris Entanglement, Near Collision with Heamseo

Panama-flagged cargo ship A is being towed to a safe area by Jeju Coast Guard on the morning of the 6th. (Photo by Jeju Coast Guard)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Hwang Jeongpil] On the morning of the 6th, Panama-flagged cargo ship A, heading from Gwangyang Port in Jeollanam-do to China, drifted after marine debris got entangled in its propeller and was safely towed to a secure area by the Jeju Coast Guard.

According to the Jeju Coast Guard on the 7th, at around 9:39 a.m. the previous day, the Panama-flagged 2,700-ton cargo ship A (with 6 Chinese, 5 Myanmar, and 2 Vietnamese crew members) heading from Gwangyang Port to China was drifting near Haeamseo, 22 kilometers off Jeju Port, unable to navigate due to debris entanglement.

Upon receiving the report, the Jeju Coast Guard urgently dispatched a 500-ton patrol vessel patrolling the nearby waters and began towing ship A, which was in danger of collision about 600 meters from Haeamseo. Around 1 p.m., ship A was moved to a safe area near Jeju Port, where approximately two 1-ton trucks worth of debris entangled in the propeller were collected.

Meanwhile, a Jeju Coast Guard official stated, “Various vessels including cargo ships often have their propellers entangled by abandoned fishing nets, making navigation impossible, and the risk increases especially in bad weather,” urging, “Please be sure to collect abandoned fishing nets and return them to designated locations.”