The Korea Coast Guard has urgently arrested the chief mate and the helmsman in connection with the grounding of a large passenger ship carrying hundreds of people.
Passengers of the passenger ship Queen Zenobia 2 were rescued at the exclusive pier of Mokpo Maritime Police Station in Mokpo City, Jeollanam-do on the 20th. Yonhap News
On November 20, the Mokpo Maritime Police Station announced that it had urgently arrested Mr. A, the chief mate of the Queen Zenobia 2 in his 40s, and Mr. B, an Indonesian national in his 40s who served as the helmsman, on charges of gross negligence resulting in injury.
They are accused of grounding the passenger ship, which was carrying 267 people the previous day, causing injuries to passengers.
It was revealed that Mr. A missed the timing for changing the ship’s course because he was looking at his mobile phone. The ship should have changed course about 1,600 meters from Jukdo, the site of the accident, but he realized this too late. During the investigation, Mr. A reportedly stated, "I missed the steering point because I was searching for news."
The Coast Guard is currently investigating Mr. B with the help of an interpreter to determine why he did not switch the autopilot system to manual mode. The area where the accident occurred is a dangerous narrow channel, so the autopilot system should have been switched to manual, but in reality, it was not.
The Coast Guard has seized both men's mobile phones and plans to use digital forensics to determine what they were doing at the time of the accident. Authorities are also considering whether to apply for arrest warrants, citing concerns about destruction of evidence and the risk of flight.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has also booked Captain C on the same charges and is investigating him. It was found that Captain C was not in the investigation room at the time of the accident because he was off duty. The Coast Guard intends to determine where Captain C was and what he was doing at the time.
The Queen Zenobia 2 departed Mokpo the previous day with 267 people on board, including passengers and crew, but ran aground with about half of its hull on Jukdo, an uninhabited island near Jangsan Island in Sinan County. Thirty passengers were transported to the hospital due to the impact of the grounding, but none of the injuries are reported to be serious.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
