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The Sewol Sank Due to Excessive Extension, Loading, and Veering
By Gang Hyeon-seok
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The sunken ferry, Sewol, was an unsafe ship even before it left the harbor. The ferry operator, Cheonghaejin Marine Company loaded more cargo than the legal limit to make a bigger profit, yet they failed to hold the cargo tightly in place. The novice mate and helmsman also made an irreversible mistake on a dangerous course.

According to the indictments of fifteen crew members which the joint investigation team (prosecutors and police) released on May 15, Cheonghaejin extended two floors at the stern of an eighteen--year--old ship which they purchased from Japan in 2012 for 11.5 billion won.

The total weight increased by 187 tons and the boat was now able to accommodate 956 passengers, but its center of gravity also rose 51 centimeters. In order for Sewol to sail safely while maintaining stability, it should have loaded 1,077 tons of cargo, a decrease from the previous 1,450 tons, and 1,565 tons of ballast water, an increase from 1,333 tons.

Captain Yi Jun-seok (center) and crew members answer questions from the press after an investigation to determine the warrant¡®s validity in connection to the Sewol accident on April 19. Yonhap News



However, at the time of the accident, Sewol was loaded with 2,142 tons of freight. There were 53 containers on B1 where they were not supposed to place any cargo. The company received 62 million won for shipping cargo in this way. They had earned the cost of operating Sewol once from Incheon to Jeju, 60 million won, by loading illegal amounts of cargo.

Cheonghaejin Marine Company and the crew took out the ballast water, essential in maintaining the ship's stability, as they took in more cargo. They only filled the ship with 761 tons, 804 tons less than the required amount. In order to load more freight, the company even reduced 503 tons of fuel and water for use on the ship.

They did not strap the cargo according to the guidelines either. The containers which were stacked in two stories were fixed perilously with a normal rope and the cars were tied down with one rope instead of with two in the front and the back. And this ship happened to pass the Maenggol Waterway, the most dangerous sea route at 8:48 a.m. on April 16.

The original captain, Shin, who had been aware that the stability of the ship was not good, had told his mates, "Since stability is extremely weak, make sure we don't veer more than 5 degrees." However, Shin, who had kept the wheelhouse each time the ship was in operation, was on vacation, and Yi Jun--seok (69) who took command of the ship in his place was taking a break in his cabin.

Third mate Bak (25) who had sailed this course alone for the first time and Jo (55), who was inexperienced in steering took over the ship. At 8:48 a.m. with orders from Bak, Jo turned the wheel more than 15 degrees to the right when he wasn't supposed to exceed more than 5 degrees. Sewol could not overcome the centrifugal force and fell to the left. The loosely tied cargo poured to the left and the ship began to sink faster, completely overturning at 10:17 a.m.

It was revealed that this ferry, which had begun sailing in March 2013, had experienced two dangerous accidents previous to its sinking. On November 28, 2013, the Sewol almost sank when the bricks in the freight compartment fell to one side of the ship after the ship was hit by waves and tilted to the left near Hwado, Jeju. At the time, there were 117 passengers on board heading for Jeju Island. On January 20, two months after that accident, the Sewol was unable to withstand winds of 18m/s and could not depart from Jeju Harbor. They even brought in a tug boat, but the ferry could not move because the surface area facing the wind had increased after they extended the cabins on the fourth and fifth floors.

"There is a risk of an accident when loading cargo because the ship's center of gravity shifted after the changes to its structure." Employees at Cheonghaejin Marine Company reported the problem with the ship's stability to the management in a written account of the two accidents, but failed to make any corrections. A prosecutor said, "You can say that a roly--poly, which never falls down, fell down." In the end, the sinking of Sewol was a man--made disaster.

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