"67 Billion Won Compensation Ruling for Families of Hungary Cruise Ship Disaster Victims"

2019 Danube River Cruise Ship Collision
Budapest Court Rules "Two Shipowners Must Compensate"

The bereaved families of the 25 Koreans who died in the 2019 "Hungarian cruise ship" disaster won a civil lawsuit filed against the cruise operators Panorama Deck and Viking River Cruises. The compensation amount is approximately 6.7 billion KRW. This recent ruling by the Budapest District Court was reported through local Hungarian media.

Panorama Deck was the owner of the small cruise ship Hable?ny, which Korean tourists were aboard when it sank in the accident. Viking River Cruises was the owner of the Swiss cruise ship Viking Sigyn, which collided with the Hable?ny. The Hungarian media Daily News Hungary described the compensation amount imposed on them as "an unusually large sum."

Hungarian police and experts are conducting a detailed investigation of the Hable?ny cruise ship hull salvaged from the Danube River in Hungary on June 11, 2019 (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The Hungarian cruise ship disaster occurred on May 29, 2019, at 9 p.m. on the Danube River in Budapest, the capital of Hungary, when the small cruise ship Hable?ny collided with the cruise ship Viking Sigyn and sank. At the time, the Hable?ny was carrying a total of 35 people, including 33 Koreans on a night tour and 2 Hungarian crew members. The accident resulted in the deaths of 25 Koreans and 2 Hungarians; 7 Koreans were rescued, and 1 Korean was missing. The deceased Korean passengers were traveling through major Eastern European countries on a package tour arranged by a domestic travel agency when the tragedy occurred. It is known that the Danube River had a high water level due to several days of continuous heavy rain at the time of the accident.

In September of last year, Captain Yuri Kaplinski of the cruise ship Viking Sigyn was sentenced to 5 years and 6 months in prison in the first trial. Captain Kaplinski was charged with causing the sinking accident by colliding the Viking Sigyn with the Hable?ny near the Margaret Bridge in Budapest while navigating the Danube River on May 29, 2019, and for failing to properly carry out rescue measures after the accident. Investigations revealed that the Viking Sigyn attempted to overtake the Hable?ny without proper radio communication and failed to provide adequate rescue efforts while the Hable?ny was sinking, which increased the loss of life.