Collective insensitivity to safety

Once again human error was behind the nation’s biggest maritime disaster in over two decades.

Experts said Friday that the capsizing of the ferry Sewol involved violations of many regulations and poor safety precautions practiced by its crew and enforced by the government.

On top of the captain and other crewmembers’ unprofessional behavior during the accident, rescue operations were clumsy and ineffective, leading to more casualties, they said.

The 6,825-ton ferry sank off Korea’s southwestern coast Wednesday with 476 passengers on board. A total of 174 people have been rescued but more than 250 are still unaccounted for with the death toll continuing to rise.

“Crewmembers failed to give a proper explanation of the incident and did not instruct passengers to evacuate at the right time. Lifeboats and other safety devices were not functional,” said a professor at a local university who asked not to be named.

“Most mysterious is the way the captain of the Sewol reacted. He is known to have let a third mate with little experience steer the ship on the difficult southern coastal route against strong currents. He will have much to explain.”

A 26-year-old third mate surnamed Park was reportedly at the wheel of the Sewol at the time of the disaster even though there were more experienced helmsmen. Park has just one-year experience.

Prof. Yun Jong-hwui at Korea Maritime University said that a third mate can steer the ship under the shift system but the captain must be next to him on such a difficult part of the route.

“It is hard to understand that the captain was absent in the strong-current area with a third mate steering,” he said.

The captain of the Sewol surnamed Lee was in the first group of people to be rescued.

The Coast Guard instructed him to evacuate passengers just six minutes after he declared an emergency, but he did not follow the instructions.

Instead, he ordered his crew to tell everyone through the boat’s intercom system to stay calm and remain where they were for their own safety. Soon after, he and his crew abandoned the ship without taking any follow-up measures.

The actions Lee took were against relevant laws stipulating that captains should not leave their ships before all the passengers are safely disembarked.

Other experts also pointed their fingers to the utter lack of safety consciousness on the part of central government.

They especially took issue with the fact that the government did not have a specific manual to swiftly deal with catastrophes at sea like the Sewel.

Prof. Kim Chan-oh at the Seoul National University of Science and Technology said that Korea has to develop a systematic approach to prevent the recurrence of a similar maritime tragedy.

“Basically, our system is faulty. The management of any accidents involving passenger ships should be included in the national crisis management system,” he said. “Then, we will be able to come up with instant responses to them. However, we just rely on the Coast Guard and related ministries to deal with them at present.” By Kim Tae-gyu, The Korea Times