Officer was Distracted on Cell Phone as Ferry Grounded Says Coast Guard
The Korean Coast Guard held a briefing on yesterday’s grounding of a passenger car ferry, reporting a litany of failures and saying it is pursuing charges, including gross negligence. It said the first officer, who was responsible for navigation, was distracted by his cell phone and failed to perform his duties, while the captain and helmsman are also under investigation.
The first officer of the ferry, identified as a Korean in his 40s, was in charge of the vessel as it was completing its four-hour run from the popular tourist destination on Jeju island. He initially told the Coast Guard the steering had malfunctioned, but later admitted he had been reading the news on his cell phone.
During the final 45 minutes of the voyage, the ferry Queen Jenuvia 2 was traveling through a narrow navigation channel, and according to the Coast Guard, the vessel should have been under manual control. Instead, the vessel’s automatic pilot had remained engaged as it approached a nearly 90-degree bend in the channel.
The vessel overshot the turn by approximately two to three minutes, or 1,500 meters, and was approximately 100 meters from an uninhabited island when the error was detected. The bow of the vessel was holed as it hit the island. A total of 27 passengers were taken to the hospital after the vessel was evacuated, suffering from a range of minor injuries.
The Coast Guard said the first officer, along with the helmsman, is being detained and facing arrest on charges of gross negligence. If convicted, they would face up to five years in jail.
The investigation into the incident is ongoing, with the Coast Guard reporting that it was seizing cell phones to conduct forensic analyses. It is also reviewing closed-circuit TV camera video from the ship, as well as the voyage data recorder.
The master of the vessel, a Korean in his 60s, is also under investigation because he was not on the bridge at the time of the incident. He is facing charges for a failure to fulfill his duties. The helmsman, who is from Indonesia, was being interviewed through the use of an interpreter.
The operators of the ferry, Sea World Express Ferry Co., issued a formal apology and suspended service. It said it was working with the authorities while noting it had arranged shelter for the passengers after they were evacuated. The company said it was working to determine the circumstances and promised to “comprehensively reorganize our safety management system across all ship operations to prevent a recurrence.”
The ferry was refloated overnight at high tide and was brought to the dock in Mokpo for further investigation. It had 246 passengers and 21 crewmembers aboard and was carrying 118 vehicles. Arrangements were being made for the vehicles to be offloaded along with the cargo from the ship.
Passengers Being Evacuated After Korean Ferry Runs Aground
A large rescue operation is underway along the South Korean coast south of Seoul after a larger passenger-car ferry grounded while approaching the port at Mokpo on Wednesday evening, November 19. Coming 11 years after South Korea’s worst sea disaster on another passenger ferry, the government, including the president of South Korea, has quickly responded to the grounding.
President Lee Jae Myung was briefed during a state visit to the UAE and immediately ordered all available resources to be deployed. The government issued instructions for the local authorities to immediately establish temporary shelter and put medical support teams on standby. The danger, however, was reported to be less imminent as the ferry is hard aground and not reported to be taking on water.
Built in 2021, the 26,546 gross ton Queen Jenuvia 2 was completing a run from the popular tourist destination on Jeju Island. There were 267 passengers aboard and a crew of 21. The ship is operated by SeaWorld Express, which acquired it in 2024, and it is registered in Panama. It has a capacity for 1,010 passengers and more than 3,500 tons of cargo or vehicles.
According to the media reports, the vessel was nearing shore at low tide when the bow of the 558-foot (170-meter) ferry struck an uninhabited island at approximately 8:15 p.m. local time, approximately 45 minutes before its scheduled arrival time. It had departed Jeju at 4:45 pm local time. Passengers reported a strong jolt, and media reports are saying five passengers suffered minor injuries.
The ship was reported listing 15 degrees to port with a hole in its hull. Weather conditions were fair with light winds.
The Coast Guard dispatched 10 patrol boats, with the first vessels reaching the stranded ferry within approximately 20 minutes. Passengers were instructed to put on their life jackets and were being transferred to the Coast Guard vessels.
A skeleton crew was remaining aboard the vessel with the captain. The Coast Guard was hoping to refloat the vessel and move it to port overnight during the high tide.
In 2014, the Sewol ferry bound for Jeju sank in a similar position to the current incident. Many people were trapped aboard the ferry, with over 300 killed. It was later determined that the ferry had been overloaded.
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