sábado, 24 de mayo de 2014

Sewol master and three crew members could face the death penalty

Alexander SpiewokSewol master and three crew members could face the death penalty

Auditor at DNV GL Group Contribuidor principal
Lloyd's List - 15 May 2014 - by Max Tingyao Lin

South Korean prosecutors bring indictments of homicide through gross negligence

QUOTE

SOUTH Korea's authorities have indicted the master and three crew members of the ferry that sank last month for homicide through gross negligence, a crime punishable by death.

Sewol capsized and eventually submerged on a routine journey from Incheon to Jeju Island, killing 281 of the 476 passengers on board.

Rescuers continue to search for 23 missing people. Many of the casualties were children and their teachers on a school trip.

South Korean prosecutors told reporters in Seoul that the 69-year-old master Lee Joon-seok, the first and second officers and the chief engineer fled the vessel as hundreds of passengers remained on board.

The four have been accused of abandoning the ship without trying to evacuate the passengers, Yonhap News Agency reported.

Prosecutors also charged another 11 crew members for negligence because they escaped off the ship before many passengers.

Sewol, which lost part of its capability to maintain stability after remodelling work to add capacity, was massively overloaded and had insufficient water in its ballast tanks when the incident occurred, according to prosecutors.

When the ship sailed into strong currents, Capt Lee left navigation work to the third officer and the crew made a sharp turn of 15 degrees.

That was why Sewol listed rapidly and sank, prosecutors said.

Last week, South Korean authorities arrested the chief executive of ferry operator Cheonghaejin Marine, whose business licences are being revoked.

Prosecutors are also seeking to detain some members of the family that owns Cheonghaejin Marine, including one based in the US.

The South Korean government has faced strong criticism for not launching rescue operations in a timely manner, prompting president Park Geun-hye to offer a public apology and her premier to resign.

The investigation has also put the roles of Korean Register and Korean Shipping Association as industry monitoring bodies under the spotlight.

At the end of April, KR chairman Chon Young-Kee resigned “to ease the pain and sorrow of the Korean people and the families who lost their loved ones onboard Sewol”, the class society said.

UNQUOTE

Comentarios

  • Alexander Alexandrov
    Alexander
    Alexander Alexandrov
    Independent Maritime Professional
    We might put Costa Concordia, Estonia, etc cases in this topic as well. It seems there is lack of MET and control upon processes? To whom belong mistakes? Is the master and crew the only guilty or it is top of the pyramid?
  • adthisaya ganesen
    adthisaya
    adthisaya ganesen
    Senior General Manager at MISC Berhad
    It is truly a very sad story. The question that rings in my mind is whether justice will be done by just penalising the Master and the crew of MV Sewol. What would be a better thing to do is fixing all the wrong and erroneous systems, processes and procedures as a top priority so that there will NOT be a repeat. By doing so, we will also allow opportunity for everyone to learn and appreciate what went wrong where.
    Jill F. y Thottapilli Anil K. recomiendan esto
  • Alexander Alexandrov
    Alexander
    Alexander Alexandrov
    Independent Maritime Professional
    In principle you are right, but since decades it is a willing only. Maybe, somewhere, somebody makes something? In practice the final guilty is the Master, despite there are many other parties concerned ashore. What do you thing about CC case: if Master maneuvered to close to the rocks what did VTS duties at the same time? Following the vessel their obligation is to advise the Master. Do you thing there is such warning?
  • John Immerfall
    John
    John Immerfall
    Maritime Professional
    What a shame all those young lives were lost. It truly is a debt that cannot be re paid. Taking the lives of the Master and his crew will not bring back those precious lives. Remove them from the industry, permanently. Give them some jail time. Make them personally apologize to each surviving family member. Make them publicly admit in detail their wrong doing. Shame them, that is what they deserve. Tsun Tsu says "when plotting revenge. Remember to dig two graves." We should pitty them. They have all those innocent lives hanging over their souls. The company should have to pay every penny they have. Selling all of their assets completely. That money should be given to surviving familes. The ferry should be rendered inoperable and sank. It should be marked and memorilized. So that all that see it can remember what happens when poor decisions become reality.
    Jill F. y Alexander A. recomiendan esto
  • Jill Friedman
    Jill
    Jill Friedman
    Unlimited master/SDPO
    Death penalty for an accident? WOW! And how will we ever get anyone to even consider becoming an officer again?

    IMHO, we have already gone way overboard in blaming the ships crew for what happens on board. In many cases, it was the actions and rulings of people on shore who caused the worst of the results of the incident. I have a feeling this case is going to be one of those.

    I still have not seen any reports of what really happened on board the Sewol. Yes, they made a "sharp turn". Why? Why would that cause the ship to list and sink??????? THAT it the important question!

    Yes, the captain and some of his officers deserted the ship before they should have. They disregarded their duties and more people died than should have. They should be punished for that.

    But DEATH??? How does anyone know how they would react if they thought their live was on the line? Is there a way to train for that? To guarantee that you would save others before yourself if it came down to that? I don't know of any such training except maybe in the military (but the merchant marine is NOT the military).

    It astounds me how little people understand about how shipboard operations really work. How little REAL authority or control even the master has anymore. Yes, of course, the crew could refuse to sail. Then the company will just find another who will. That is the truth of shipping today. There will always be someone willing to work for whatever scum operation is out there willing to pay a days wages (or even if not). Sometimes it takes real world experience and not things they teach in class to learn when you need to take a stand. I hear some of the Sewols crew was fairly new. We can't crew ALL ships with very experienced sailors. Crew need to start somewhere and learn on the job regardless of how many classes they may go to on the beach.

    Of course I am sorry for the people who were involved in this tragedy, but I really can't imagine how it would truly help anyone to just blame the crew and go right on with business as usual. Write a few more rules (that probably won't address the real problem and will mostly be ignored or gone around) and hope for the best til next time.

    I see the authorities are searching for the owner/operators of the Sewol. I hope they can find them and get to the bottom of some of the questions I have about the ships stability, procedures and manning.
    Capt Richard T. y Barista U. recomiendan esto
  • Barista Uno
    Barista
    Barista Uno
    Blogger ordinaire at Marine Café Blog
    Sadly, there is this mad rush following the disaster to place a sacrificial lamb on the altar of maritime safety. Is it to appease the gods? No. It is to appease South Korea's national conscience.
    Capt Richard T. y Jill F. recomiendan esto
  • Alexander Alexandrov
    Alexander
    Alexander Alexandrov
    Independent Maritime Professional
    Jill, excellant speach, touching in deep of the problems. We are "lambs" because are separated at all and secondly, because the only crew (Master) is at sea. The rest parties involved in the transport process are ashore in a similar working environment and "united". Community gave them rights that they are not able to perform. Their errors are coupled and reflect at sea. That is why Masters are guilty always. Our unions and professional organisation do not work properly, defending our human and professional life.
    Capt Richard T. y Jill F. recomiendan esto
  • Capt Richard Teo FNI FCILT MAICD
    Capt Richard
    Capt Richard Teo FNI FCILT MAICD
    Consultant and Change Agent
    The advent of modern management and sometimes suspect Leadership in a very cut-throat industry has sadly brought us back to medievil times where revenge, anger and very powerful emotions take over from sensible and ethical approaches. Yet we preach the 2 latter principles in all our leaderful-management schools and CPD whatsoever?

    Sometimes I shudder at how the world has become and seafaring is now not only high risk to our lives but to our very being, existence and future. Shame methinks?
    Jill F. recomienda esto
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