The family members of missing Sewol Ferry victims in grief (at Jindo Stadium)
It was revealed Sunday (KST) that one of the Sewol Ferry crew members exchanged 31-minute-long conversation with nearby VTS (Vessel Traffic Service) located at Jindo Island. The first alert from Sewol Ferry was reported at 8:55 a.m. Jindo VTS and Sewol crew member started the radio conversations from 9:06 a.m. to 9:37 a.m. over 12 times.
On April 15, the Sewol Ferry that was carrying 476 passengers including 325 Danwon High School students left Incheon Port to Jeju Island in South Korea. The captain, Joon-seok Lee, 69, left his post and entrusted the bridge to the hands of inexperienced third mate, Hyun-kul Park, 25, who had only been at sea for about a year and for four months on the specific route.
Ms. Park made a sudden sharp left turn in the morning of April 16 at the speed of 18 knots (20 km/hr), which is not an excessive speed in the normal situation, however, the unsecured cargo in Sewol Ferry shifted suddenly from the impact, according to the Korean Coast Guard investigation reports.
After the further investigation, it was found out that the captain of Sewol Ferry escaped his ship first along with his crew members leaving the high school students behind to sink with the ship.
A total of 174 people survived out of 476 passengers and 64 found dead. 238 people are still missing. The family members of missing people are desperately holding onto the last hope of air pocket.
For days, the rescue team has been struggling to secure the access into the sunken Sewol Ferry but until Sunday (KST), the attempts went in vain due to strong current.
As more dead bodies pulled from the icy cold ocean, the family members of the victims let out the agonizing cry in disbelief. A family member cried out, “No! no! no! Wake up! Wake up! Please…” as the excruciating pain from the loss weighed on him.
After the transcript of radio conversation revealed, it was apparent that the captain Lee and crew members did not follow the standard procedure to remove all passengers from the ship. The captain Lee and many of the ferry crew members were among the group of people who escaped the ship first. According to the international marine regulations and laws, the captain must stay with his ship at all time until all his passengers evacuated the ship and this marine tradition has been kept for over decades and this is the second time recorded for a captain to break the seaman’s code of honor. The media including The New York Times reported captain Lee’s behavior as “embarrassment” and “a disgrace.”
*The full Jindo VTS-Sewol Ferry communication transcript
1. 9:06 a.m.
-Jindo VTS: Sewol Ferry, do you sense Jindo VTS?
-Jindo VTS: Sewol Ferry, Sewol Ferry Jindo VTS. Sewol Ferry, Sewol Ferry Jindo VTS
2. 9:07 a.m.
-Sewol Ferry: Jindo VTS, Sewol Ferry
-Jindo VTS: Sewol Ferry, Sewol Ferry. This is Jindo VTS. Are you sinking now?
-Sewol Ferry: Yes, it is. Please notify the Coast Guard.
3. 9:10 a.m.
-Sewol Ferry: Jindo VTS, this is Sewol Ferry.
-Jindo VTS: This is Jindo VTS.
4. 9:12 a.m.
-Jindo VTS: Sewol Ferry, this is Jindo VTS. Are the passengers boarding on the life rafts and rescue boats?
-Sewol Ferry: No, we are not. The ship is listing and can’t move.
5. 9:13-14 a.m.
-Jindo VTS: How many passengers do you have on board?
-Sewol Ferry: Yes, 450. About 500 passengers.
-Jindo VTS: Yes, Doola Ace ship near your location is heading that way.
-Sewol Ferry: Yes, come quickly please.
-Jindo VTS: I am contacting all fishing boats near your location. Is it possible for the Sewol passengers to escape?
-Sewol Ferry: It is impossible to escape because the ship is listed too much.
-Jindo VTS: Contacted all patrol boats and fishing boats to direct them toward that way.
6. 9:17-18 a.m.
-Jindo VTS: Sewol Ferry, this is Jindo VTS. Are you there? (X4) What is the current status on flooding?
-Sewol Ferry: The ship is listed 50˚ to the left now so people cannot move. Told crew members to wear life jacket and wait.. but it is impossible to check and crew members are gathered at the bridge so it is impossible to move. Come quickly, please.
-Jindo VTS: Yes, I see. How flooded is the Sewol Ferry?
-Sewol Ferry: It is not being confirmed. It was observed from the ship head that a few containers fell from the deck but I am barely holding onto the wall at the bridge because I cannot move.
-Jindo VTS: Doola Ace ship is approaching right now.
-Sewol Ferry: Yes, I see.
7. 9:21-22 a.m.
-Sewol Ferry: Is the Coast Guard coming to rescue? How long would it take them to get here? Does Jeju Port get Sewol Ferry call?
-Jindo VTS: Sewol Ferry, Doola Ace ship is approaching but it is impossible to go alongside of so it is waiting.
-Sewol Ferry: Yes, how long will the Coast Guard take?
-Jindo VTS: Yes, hold on.
8. 9:23-24 a.m.
-Jindo VTS: 15 minutes before the arrival of patrol boats. Make an announcement to the passengers to wear equipped lifejackets.
-Sewol Ferry: It is impossible to make an announcement even.
-Jindo VTS: Even if so, please notify as many passengers as possible to wear thick clothes and life jackets.
-Sewol Ferry: If we let passengers escape, can they be rescued right away?
-Jindo VTS: Let them just take life rings to float then. Quickly!
9. 9:25-26 a.m.
-Jindo VTS: The stat on Sewol Ferry escape. The captain should make a decision to make people escape. We do not know the situation there so the captain has to make the final decision to make people escape quickly.
-Sewol Ferry: No, that is not it. I asked it is possible for passengers to be rescued right away if passengers escape.
-Jindo VTS: The patrol boat will arrive within 10 minutes.
-Sewol Ferry: Arrive after 10 minutes?
-Jindo VTS: Yes, it will take 10 minutes. 10 minutes!
10. 9:27-28 a.m.
-Jindo VTS: Sewol Ferry. The helicopter will arrive in a minute.
-Sewol Ferry: I cannot hear you. Please speak slowly.
-Jindo VTS: The helicopter will arrive in a minute.
-Sewol Ferry: Can you say it again.
-Jindo VTS: The helicopter will arrive soon.
-Sewol Ferry: There are so many passengers so the helicopter won’t do it.
-Jindo VTS: The helicopter will arrive. The ships nearby are approaching.
11. 9:32 a.m.
-Sewol Ferry: Jindo VTS, this is Sewol Ferry. Do you sense us?
-Jindo VTS: Go ahead Sewol Ferry.
-Sewol Ferry: The ship’s current location is latitude 34˚ 10 minutes, 125˚ 57 minutes, 57 minutes.
Jindo VTS: Yes, I checked the ship location.
12. 9:37 a.m.
-Jindo VTS: Sewol Ferry, Sewol Ferry, this is Jindo VTS.
-Sewol Ferry: Yes, Sewol Ferry, this is Sewol Ferry.
-Jindo VTS: What is your stat on flooding? The flooding.
-Sewol Ferry: It is impossible to check flooding, and The passengers are escaping from the port and I made an announcement that there are patrol boats and the merchant ships in 50 meters.. but it is hard to even move toward the port.
-Jindo VTS: Yes, I see.
-Sewol Ferry: The ship is listed 60˚ toward the port side and even aircrafts are here now. Coast Guard (The transmission got cut off)
Reporter: MJ Kwak
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com