South Korea ferry sinks...hundreds missing

Maritime News Marine Incidents
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[I]Sudden-turn theory:
A sudden turn of the ship was suspected as the cause since the onset of the investigation. The analysis of the Automatic Identification System of the ship confirmed a sudden turn and supported the theory. As of 17 April, the sudden turn is officially determined by the ROK Coast Guard as the cause. [/I]

So from now on, please avoid to make sudden turns cause you can land to jail. To avoid a right of way crossing sailboat in a narrow channel do turn but please, not too sudden.

[I]Conduct of the captain:
Captain Lee Jun-Seok was one of the first to leave the ship to safety after the disaster. Such conduct is a violation of the maritime principle that the captain goes down with the ship, that is, the captain should remain on board until everyone is rescued, and if unable to rescue everyone, should die trying.[/I]

I agree that we should go down with the ship and die trying to rescue everyone. But it would be nice to have an increase of salary for that extraordinary and heroic maritime principle that was revealed from the movie Titanic. Too bad for the helicopter pilots, rescuers policemen, fireman that will not benefit from that rise of salary because apart of a ship’s master, they don’t have the obligation to endanger or sacrifice their life in conducting a rescue operation.

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I joined a big RO/RO years ago as third mate. During my first routine inspection I found every cargo vent frozen open. I tried to fix them myself but they were rusted in place so I told the C/M, he ignored me so I reported it to the captain. Next day the entire deck dept was out fixing the vents. The C/M was pissed and drove me off the ship.

Point being that the three previous third mate before me had just documented “all vent in the open position”. How can it be that every officer in the merchant marine runs the ship 100% ready for any emergency to hear the story but when the shit actually hits the fan it’s another matter?

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[QUOTE=Topsail;136126]The IMO would hire you right away cause like them, you cannot give any practical answer to any of those questions apart BS paper work. Kind of proof that you never ever have a command and be the ultimate responsible.

The ISM Code only answers questions by more questions. It only delegates the burden of finding answers to complex questions down the shoulder of the master which will be at the end, the one to be decapitated.

[I]’‘The safety management system should ensure compliance with mandatory rules, regulations, applicable codes, guidelines and standards recommended by the Organization push pen government people.’’[/I]

So where are those mandatory rules and regulations pertaining to:

  • sail with unlashed deck containers or unsecured tween deck cars and trucks,
  • carry a cargomax program to ascertain intact stability criteria prior getting underway,
  • exact point of a peril of the sea where a captain is in the obligation to order an abandon ship
  • exact sequence of a passenger vessel abandon ship,
  • relieving the master from his obligations and responsibilities to render rescue,
  • exonerate the master from a rumored obligation to sacrifice his life in conducting a rescue.[/QUOTE]

You play mighty fast and loose with your aspersions there matey. So ask stoopid questions, expect to get handed a book and told to look it up yourself.

Sure it is possible to cite chapter and verse for some of your questions, but ultimately do your own research.

I suppose up there on the genius level, you already knew some of the questions had no exact answer or no obligation exists.

So go ahead, please do educate us, as we apparently remain the great unwashed.

Pray tell, don’t keep us in suspense needlessly.

The ISM Code, as part of that little aggravating thing called SOLAS, points out the need to recognize hazards and deal with them, says why, and states the Company’s obligations and Master’s Authorities and Responsibilities quite clearly.

How they do it - is up to them. It ain’t rocket science.

Good luck.

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Here is a duly approved IMO Abandon Ship Checklist that I found on the net.

abando10.png595×815

Purpose: to prepare for, and if necessary, carry out an orderly evacuation;
In the case of an Abandon Ship Checklist, would there be another purpose than to prepare for Abandon Ship ? What means “if necessary”. Where is the simplified organigram to rapidly determine if it is necessary to evacuate in terms of flooded compartments, list, smoke, etc. If you’re the Master of a cruise ship carrying 8,000 souls on board of all nationalities and age, to what extent you will be capable to perform an “orderly evacuation”.

Responsibility: The Master is responsible for verifying that this procedure is followed;
If the master is afflicted by the Inaction Syndrome, Confirmation Biais, how do you supersede him ? If the master interpret the Abandon Ship Checklist to his owner benefice, he should be relieved on the spot.

1. Inform the crew to prepare to abandon ship;By whistle and/or ship’s alarm

  • Abandon ship signal (… _)
  • Fire & Emergency Signal (____)
  • Abandon ship signal by PA … (text)

After repeating the appropriate signal 3 times, it should be then realized that there is something going wrong. It really gets on the nerve and restrain good working preactice when you have constant sirens loud noises.

2. Advise authorities that you are preparing to abandon ship;
GMDSS SAT HF VHF AIS Selective Calls, EPIRB & SART to be carry in the designated rescue boat

  • Name and type of vessel
  • position
  • nature of distress
  • souls on board
  • assistance required

3. Crew advises passengers to gather on main deck, warmly dressed, and put on lifejackets. Keep them as sheltered as possible. Do not allow lifejackets to be worn inside;
Passengers could be all over the vessel. Do you direct them to their cabin to get dressed warmly, to pick up their life jacket and jewels and then, back to the muster station on a sheltered public area near the boat deck. How will you then maintain an “orderly evacuation” … or … Do you order the crew to direct passengers immediately to their boat stations, making sure that nobody is left behind, where they can find on the spot all the lifejackets (and emergency protective blankets) needed. What would be the difference at the end of the day if some passengers worn their lifejacket inside.

4. Crew checks that all persons on board are accounted for;
At this time, the lifeboats / liferafts should be ready for embarkation. As soon as the passengers present themselves to their boarding station with their safety gears on, are accounted for, and are immediately embarked.

5. Crew readies liferafts for launching and gets medical kit, blankets, food and EPIRB ready to be placed in the liferaft;
Designated rescue lifeboat to pick up and carry the EPIRB & SART. The rest of the emergency equipment is already on board lifeboats.

6. Review with crew and passenger how the evacuation will be carried out. Assign able-bodied people to assist elderly, children, etc;
Too late to review. If safe and time permits, proceed to a last quick round to find “Those who are absent and always wrong”. Souls are now ready to be evacuated on Master’s verbal or signal order. What is the Master ultimate evacuation signal ?

7. Review cold shock symptoms and how to counteract them;
Done during passenger’s lifeboat drill prior departure.

8. If the situation deteriorates, call for abandon ship;
Deteriorates to what level … 10 degrees list and increasing, more than 2 contiguous compartment ingress, fire being spread to contiguous compartment … ABANDON SHIP. Ounce that all lifeboats/ liferafts are freed from their falls or painters, the Master declares " Every Man For Himself ". The Master abandon ship and becomes the On Scene Commander until relieved by SAR authorities.

9. Throw liferafts over the side and inflate it, leaving the painter attached to the vessel;
Done.

10. Assist passengers into the liferaft (Should there be a crew member in the raft to help them down ?);
The absent who are always wrong will have to remember from their abandon ship drill or study the instruction plate as to How to throw yourself over the side.

11. Keep the liferafts attached to the vessel so long as it is safe to do so;
Regroup and fast all lifeboats / liferafts in the form of a unique raft, except for the designated rescue boat who will try to help souls in the water if safe to do so. Activate the EPIRB, prepare distress signals, keep look out. Try to calm, comfort and secure passengers.

12. Cast Off if it appears the vessel will sink or capsize, or if staying alongside pose other hazards;
Done.

Now, I will put my Head on the Log as I’m used to do it …

Abandon Ship Checklist

The commanding officer have the obligation to keep to the Abandon Ship Checklist as near as safe to do so. Failure to adhere to will result in being relieved by the next in line commanding officer.

  1. Upon serious occurrence such as Grounding / Collision / Fire, the commanding officer shall sound immediately:

  • 3 times the Abandon Ship Signal (… _)

  • 3 times the Fire & Emergency Signal (____)

  • and/or follow by Public Address (text)

  • to order the designated crew to prepare to Abandon Ship,

  • to order the designated crew to prepare for Fire Fighting,

  • to order the designated crew to assist passengers to prepare for Abandon Ship.

  1. The commanding officer shall advise immediately the Authorities or Vessels by May Day Distress Call;

GMDSS SAT HF VHF AIS

  • Name and type of vessel
  • position
  • nature of distress
  • souls on board
  • assistance required

EPIRB & SART to be carry to the designated rescue boat.

  1. Designated crew to prepare lifeboats (liferafts) ready for embarkation on the Boat Deck;

  2. Designated crew to direct passengers immediately to their boat station, making sure that nobody is left behind;

  3. As soon as a lifeboat is ready, the designated crew to muster, verify lifejacket and direct passengers for immediate embarkation;

  4. If the vessel situation deteriorates to:

  • ≥ 10 degrees list,
  • > 2 contiguous compartments being water ingress,
  • fire being spread to > 2 contiguous compartments

the commanding officer shall order ABANDON SHIP.

  1. Ounce all lifeboats (liferafts) free from their falls or painters, the commanding officer shall declare " Every Man For Himself ", abandon ship and become the On Scene Commander until relieved by SAR authorities or … sink with the ship and get an heroic medal wrapped in a Panama Flag.

  2. Regroup and fast all lifeboats (liferafts) in the form of a unique raft, except for the designated rescue boat who will try to help souls in the water, if safe to do so. Activate the EPIRB, prepare distress signals, keep look out. Try to calm, comfort and secure passengers.

  3. Follow SAR Rescuers orders.

Items marked as checked … √

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anyone see any liferafts that released via their hydrostatic release?
Monos are death traps and keep proving it ,all ferries should be cats

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It’s not written into law that the Captain is to go down with the ship. But when you leave the vessel as one of the first after ordering the pax to stay in the seats, you are human waste and should just kill yourself.

I am going to rate the South Korean mariner in league with the Italian and Greek from now on, until proved otherwise not someone I want to be on a vessel with.

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Craig Allen has a rather topical column up at Professional Mainer from 2012.

In accordance with both the lore of the sea and the law of the sea, it is widely believed that a ship’s captain, in the event of disaster, must go down with his ship or at least he is expected to be the last one to step off its awash decks.
The master of the cruise ship M/V Oceanos, who in the fall of 1991 off the coast of Africa, breached this custom by fleeing his sinking ship while hundreds of passengers remained aboard, soon learned the dishonor that attends such a too- hasty abandonment…

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Any ship is a death trap in the hands of the incompetent.

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[QUOTE=Kraken;136235]It’s not written into law that the Captain is to go down with the ship. But when you leave the vessel as one of the first after ordering the pax to stay in the seats, you are human waste and should just kill yourself.

I am going to rate the South Korean mariner in league with the Italian and Greek from now on, until proved otherwise not someone I want to be on a vessel with.[/QUOTE]

Add the Canadians, don’t forget the Queen of North. - Drove straight onto the rocks, she went down on an even keel however, only two deaths.

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[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;136245]Add the Canadians, don’t forget the Queen of North. - Drove straight onto the rocks, she went down on an even keel however, only two deaths.[/QUOTE]

Was obviously amateur hour on Queen of the North. But when the shit hit the fan, the crew at least managed to do its job of evacuating the passengers. Not as certain accidents where the crew shows total moral decay by leaving the passengers to fend for themself.

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[QUOTE=Kraken;136252]Was obviously amateur hour on Queen of the North. But when the shit hit the fan, the crew at least managed to do its job of evacuating the passengers. Not as certain accidents where the crew shows total moral decay by leaving the passengers to fend for themself.[/QUOTE]

The connection between moral decay and angle of heel is likely much stronger then the link between nationality and morals. Nobody under the age of twelve got off the Estonia

What’s up with Anders Behring Breivik? Moral decay?

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[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;136254]The connection between moral decay and angle of heel is likely much stronger then the link between nationality and morals. Nobody under the age of twelve got off the Estonia

What’s up with Anders Behring Breivik? Moral decay?[/QUOTE]

There is so much wrong with ABB that I do not know where to start. But as far as I know he is not captain of a Norwegian vessel.

Where are you going with the Estonia? I can not see any similarities between Estonia and the Sewol.

Edit: Any similarities between the crew of Estonia and Sewol. The captain and bridge crew was still in the bridge when divers examined the wreck.

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^ The captain of Sewol was involved in a horrific accident, people were faced with situations beyond my ability to imagine, I am not going to sit here safely at my computer and judge their morals.

In your post however you connect the incident, the details of which are unknown to us, to the morals of the Korean people. In contrast you blame the deliberate shooting of innocent children, not to the morals of the citizens of that country but to the failures of an individual.

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What is the point of this nationality witch hunt ? Do you think Americans have any lessons of propriety to give …

[I]" Exxon Valdez, Valdez Traffic… Yeah … uhhh ! … It’s Valdez. We’ve … uhhh ! … Should be on your Radar there. Uhhh! … we’ve fetched up hard aground … north of Goose Island off Bligh Reef and uhhh ! … and evidently we’re leaking [U]some[/U] oil and uhhh ! … we’re gonna be here for a while and uhhh! … so you’re notified, Over."[/I]

… after giving the conn of a 235,000m³ deeply laden crude oil tanker, outside of a traffic scheme and at a meagre 15 minutes time to the rocks, to an inexperienced and under qualified third mate … spilling 40,000m³ over 400 nautical miles of sea shore, killing as many as 250,000 seabirds, more than 2,800 sea & river otters, at least 300 harbor seals, almost 250 bald eagles, 22 orcas and small organisms killed by the trillions !!!

That, withstanding Miss Susan vs. Summer Wind HSC collision and oil spill, Genius Star VII vs. 840,000 gallons of No.6 HFO HSC collision and oil spill, Cosco Busan Bay Bridge allision and oil spill, Over Seas Reymar Bay Bridge allision, Seastreak Wall Street allision, USS Porter vs. Otawasan Hormuz Strait collision, USS Guardian grounding, Kulluk grounding, numerous tugs & barges allisions and groundings of all sorts … that, only in the recent years !

I think we should try to promote safety by trying to find ways of avoiding these catastrophes instead of picking on each others. :confused:

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[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;136259]^ The captain of Sewol was involved in a horrific accident, people were faced with situations beyond my ability to imagine, I am not going to sit here safely at my computer and judge their morals.

In your post however you connect the incident, the details of which are unknown to us, to the morals of the Korean people. In contrast you blame the deliberate shooting of innocent children, not to the morals of the citizens of that country but to the failures of an individual.[/QUOTE]

I dont blame the korean people, I blame the Korean maritim cultur! I have worked on passenger ships and we drilled every 11 days on the fire and evacuation, and it was something one does to all the crew knew to the fingertips what to do in an accident.
And the instructions clearly state that the captain should lead evacuation from the bridge and the reason is that only the captain can give the order to lower the lifeboats. Then you can not have a captain who leaves the ship first.

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I really think that the IMO (Incapacitated Maritime Organization) is to blame. Since the Costa Concordia occurrence, here is what they came with …

The recommended [U][B]voluntary measures [/B][/U] agreed at the last session remain in place, including:

• carrying additional lifejackets, to be readily accessible in public spaces, at the muster/assembly stations, on deck or in lifeboats, so that in the event of an emergency passengers need not return to their cabins to retrieve the lifejacket stored there;

• reviewing the adequacy of the dissemination and communication of the emergency instructions on board ships;

• carrying out the muster for embarking passengers prior to departure from every port of embarkation, if the duration is 24 hours or more;

• limiting access to the bridge to those with operational or operationally related functions, during any period of restricted manoeuvring, or while manoeuvring in conditions that the master or company bridge procedures/policy deems to require increased vigilance (e.g. arrival/departure from port, heavy traffic, poor visibility); and

• ensuring that the ship’s voyage plan has taken into account IMO’s Guidelines for voyage planning, and, if appropriate, Guidelines on voyage planning for passenger ships operating in remote areas.

The action plan for long-term work on passenger ship safety, agreed at the last session was also updated, to include additional items on the review of SOLAS regulation III/27, to add the nationality of all persons on board (current regulations already require a count of all passengers and information on their names and gender, distinguishing between adults, children and infants; and information on any passengers requiring special assistance, for search and rescue purposes). Also included in the action plan is a review of resolution A.893(21) Guidelines for voyage planning.

The MSC also adopted amendments to SOLAS regulation III/17-1 to require ships to have plans and procedures to recover persons from the water, as well as related Guidelines for development of plans and procedures for recovery of persons from the water. Also, a related MSC resolution on Implementation of SOLAS regulation III/17-1 to ships other than those engaged in international voyages was adopted. The amendments had been drafted previously and approved at the last session.

The Committee also agreed to include “Passenger Ship Training” on the provisional agenda of the Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW 45).

So you can still fatefully falling into a lifeboat that is luckily being lowered and say good luck !

What about:

  • an approved quick reference checklists as in the aviation and as compulsory as FAA flight regulations,
  • the exact sequence of a passenger vessel abandon ship carrying up to 8,000 souls on board in 30 minutes time,
  • relieving the master from his authority when incapacitated to follow rigorously the checklist,
  • the exact point of an emergency where a captain is in the obligation to order abandon ship,
  • the exoneration of a master from the obligation to sacrifice his life in conducting a rescue, like all other rescue workers in the universe.
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[QUOTE=Topsail;136269]- the exoneration of a master from the obligation to sacrifice his life in conducting a rescue, like all other rescue workers in the universe.[/QUOTE]
Have to disagree with this point. The captain is not a rescue worker. On a cruise ship with 6000 pax in distress, he is god. His actions will result in the life or death of the pax. Then I expect that he will evacuate passengers before himself. If he is not able to handle that kind of responsibility then he is not one wants as captain of a vessel.

If you take on the job as captain of a passenger vessel, one must accept that you are responsible for your passengers from coming onboard to they leave the the vessel.

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Naturally, it is an aspiration for a human being, not for a God ! :wink:

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Extract from NYT 2014 04 23

[I]“The country has grown so rapidly that a lot of shortcuts have been made, so that it’s waiting for an accident to happen,” said Tom Coyner, a member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Korea and the author of “Doing Business in Korea.”

Kim Chang-je, a professor of navigation science at Korea Maritime and Ocean University, said the complaints appeared to be true of the ferry business. “We have the safety regulations and systems that were similar to global norms,” he said. “But they are not properly enforced.”

He and other experts pointed out a host of issues they said undermined safety on the ferry, including that the crew had several contract workers, who might have been less familiar with the ship than a regular crew.

Investigators have also said the decision by the company that owned the ferry, Cheonghaejin Marine Company, to add more sleeping cabins probably undermined the ship’s ability to regain its balance after tilting.

The Korea Register of Shipping approved the change to the ship’s design after advising Cheonghaejin Marine to carry less cargo and more ballast water to compensate for the loss of stability. But on Tuesday, Kim Young-rok, an opposition lawmaker, said that when the ship left Incheon, it carried 3,608 tons of cargo, [U]three times the recommended maximum[/U]. The company’s audit data showed it has depended increasingly upon cargo to compensate for declining passenger revenues.

Prosecutors were investigating whether the ferry carried enough ballast water to accommodate the extra cargo. One of the two first mates arrested on Tuesday told reporters that when he tried to right the ship after tilting, the ballast “didn’t work.”

Prosecutors raided Korea Register’s headquarters on Tuesday and barred the head of Cheonghaejin Marine, as well as the company’s family owners, from leaving the country.

It has also become clear that the captain most likely violated national navigational guidelines when he left the ship in the control of the least experienced ship’s mate through a waterway notorious for its rapid currents. The guidelines stipulate a captain should be in control in busy or dangerous waters.

The ferry also had no extra captain, as ships often do when they are on long overnight voyages so the two can take turns in the bridge, experts said.

Experts say they suspect some of the problems with the ship resulted from lax enforcement of safety standards made possible by ties among the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, the Korea Shipping Association and shipping companies.

The shipping association is a lobby for shipping companies and is financed by them. But it is also charged with inspecting ships for safety measures, such as a proper and balanced stowage of cargo. In addition, many senior officials from the ministry — which is supposed to oversee the association’s enforcement — also join the association after they retire.

“We will never be able to expect safety regulations to be properly enforced until the shipping association becomes independent,” said Jung Yun-chul, another maritime safety expert at Korea Maritime and Ocean University.

In an editorial on Monday, The Chosun Ilbo, the nation’s largest newspaper, summed up the sense that with more care for safety, the calamity might have been avoided.

“In Korea, people who insist on abiding by basic rules are often considered annoying or inflexible, while those who are adept at dodging them are seen as smart,” it said. “But the country is full of such smart people, and the result has been catastrophic.”
[/I]

I guess someone is responsible, but apparently not the Captain.

HE was qualified for Command, but obviously lacked the correct checklist to read the stability book.

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I never thought that one day I would hear from mariners, such a ridiculous thing as a captain must go down with the ship, if the evacuation was not succeeded to the very last soul that could by the way, be already dead in his bunk from a panic heart attack ! Is there anybody else on the planet that has to succeed a mission to a 101% ? Even top gun surgeon faces patient death more often than we believe !

Is the captain responsible for laws, regulations, architectures, practices … deficiencies, imperfections, faults and flaws ?

I was trained to be a captain of a vessel. I would do whatever I could to save everyone. But when the vessel becomes a wreck, the captain is in his turn entitled to become a shipwrecked castaway himself. I am a captain of a vessel, not a captain of a wreck.

While sleeping and proceeding at 22 knots through freezing pitch dark night even as advised of nearby icebergs, E.J. Smith became a Hollywood hero to have sunk with his ship accompanied by 1500 souls. It is not because that choice was made in 1912 that we all have to do the same. After a major blunder of his own, I can understand. But if the vessel would instead have caught fire and sink due to a faulty design, he could’ve save his life with honor by grabbing a flotsam even with a 1500 death toll. I that hypothetic case, I would’ve not betray my family, save myself and face the show.