Queen-Jenuvia-Ii

South Korea’s Coast Guard continued its investigation into the grounding of the 'Queen Jenuvia II' with 246 passengers and 21 crew members on board and has sought an arrest warrant for the master of the ferry, after it already had arrested the 1st officer who was on watch, as well as the helmsman, each on charges of gross negligence causing harm to the passengers, while the investigation was widening. The Coast Guard interviewed seven crewmembers from the vessel as witnesses after its interrogation of the first officer and the helmsman. The Coast Guard found that the captain had never been on the bridge of the vessel, supervising navigation in the tight, busy channel leading into the port at Mokpo in the more than 1,000 times the ferry made the approach to port, which is being considered a dereliction of duty and the responsibility for the safe navigation of the vessel. Instead the captain was allegedly resting in his cabin. The first officerfirst had blamed a failure of the steering mechanism, but later admitted he was distracted, reading the news on his cellphone. The ship overshot a critical turn and hit an uninhabited island with a speed of 20 knots. 78 people, including a pregnant woman, received medical treatment at hospitals after the incident. Further investigations also confirmed that the helmsman was also distracted. He says he was looking at the gyrocompass. The vessel, however, had been left on its autopilot, although it was required to be on manual navigation while in the confirmed and busy shipping lane near the port. The Coast Guard was also reviewing a broad range of information, including the regular inspection checklists, operational management regulations, the safety management system, and crew training practices. However, it said the investigation of the safety management officer has been delayed while the individual met with legal counsel. The Coast Guard was also investigating the Mokpo Regional Vessel Traffic Control Center, responsible for supervising all vessels. The controller was allegedly focusing on another large vessel that was also out of the normal lane. Busy with that vessel, he failed to notice that the 'Queen Jenuvia II' was out of its lane. The m VTS center had turned off alarms, as small fishing boats, less than 20 meters in length, frequently triggered the alarms even though they were not required to follow specific traffic lanes.

The Mokpo Coast Guard said on Nov 24 that it was investigating a vessel traffic service operator to determine whether they failed to detect signs that the 'Queen Jenuvia II' had deviated from its designated route before running aground. The investigators said the operator turned off the alarm for a system that alerts controllers when a vessel veers from its normal course. With the alarm disabled, the operator did not notice the ferry's course deviation until the first officer reported it, according to the Coast Guard. The operator had been monitoring about 5,000 vessels at the time and said that they had been focused on another large ship that had strayed from its route. The Coast Guard has also sought an arrest warrant for the ferry’s captain on charges of gross negligence causing injury and violating the Seafarers Act. Investigators said the captain left the wheelhouse after the vessel's departure to rest in their cabin. The captain did not return even as the ferry entered a narrow, high-risk channel. The 'Queen Jenuvia II'’s first officer and an Indonesian helsman were arrested on Saturday on gross-negligence charges. Investigators said they were directly responsible for the grounding and had been distracted in the wheelhouse, including by looking at their phones. The Seaworld Express Ferry, which operates the 'Queen Jenuvia II', has suspended the ferry’s Mokpo-Jeju service until Dec 31 while it was carrying out safety checks. The ferry berthed in Yeosu enroute from Mokpo on Nov 24.

The 'Queen Jenovia II' has been successfully refloated on Nov 19 and docked in the nearby port of Mokpo. The cause of the incident was under investigation, with the Coastguard looking into potential negligence by the captain and navigating officer. Two arrests related to the incident have been reported. The Coastguard told arrested the helmsman and the first mate for gross negligence resulting in injuries. The helmsman initially blamed a steering wheel malfunction, but later admitted he had been on his phone and missed the point at which he was supposed to change course. The first officer explained during questioning that he was watching the news on his mobile phone when the accident occurred. The steering of the ferry, which was heading towards the port city of Mokpo, was set to autopilot. A closer investigation will include a technical review of the crew members' mobile phones, the ferry's navigation data and ship traffic in the area. It will also be investigated whether the ferry was able to change course in the narrow shipping lanes in the area. The ferry did not deviate from its course when it ran aground at 22 knots. Normally, ships must be manually steered through the area, which includes many small islands along the coast. Because the shipping lanes are narrow, careful navigation is required. Authorities have ruled out that the helmsman and crew member were under the influence of drugswhile sailing. 27 people had suffered minor injuries in the accident. An inspection found the ferry had sustained significant hull damage with part of the bow crushed. The full extent of damage has not yet been released. Report with photo and video: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cx2p2l4j8vjo?fbclid=Iwb21leAOLwJ9leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR6YjJFbHGqP66YQojl2CEwhbGly1AIUkUitfD7cDEMBTyzPVo5fbIrqOkCS-Q_aem_K8qvSLAP-zD_cA_y4SZCVg