By Kim Rahn
Staff Reporter
Fourteen sailors including two foreigners were reported missing following the sinking of a ship carrying chemicals in seas off Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, Tuesday, after another seaman was rescued.
The Korea Coast Guard reported that it had difficulty in mounting search operations due to high waves.
The 1,300-ton cargo vessel Eastern Bright, carrying 2,000 tons of nitric acid, disappeared near Yeosu after sending out a distress signal at 4:19 a.m., according to the Yeosu Maritime Police.
The Coast Guard and the Navy rescued a 29-year-old Myanmarese sailor about five hours later. After being transferred to a hospital, he said the crew was sleeping and he fell out of his bunk when the ship started shaking. He said that the ship inclined 90 degrees about 10 minutes later and sank, adding he managed to wear a life vest before the sinking but the other crewmen failed.
The Coast Guard is continuing to look for the rest of the crew _ 12 Koreans and two Myanmarese _ but bad weather hindered the search carried out by helicopters and 12 patrol ships.
Coast Guard officials said they had not found the exact reason for the sinking, postulating that it was due to a sudden change in the weather.
The ship, owned by a Busan-based logistics company, was on its way from Gwangyang, South Jeolla Province, to Taiwan. As it was carrying 2,000 tons of nitric acid, the coast guard is concerned over possible pollution although chances are low. The nation recently witnessed its worst ever case of oil pollution from a spill off Taean, South Chungcheong Province.
Nitric acid is colorless with a strong smell, and the chemical was to be used for industrial purposes in Taiwan.
``As nitric acid is highly volatile and very soluble in water, if a small amount was spilled, it may not pollute the sea. It may do if a large amount leaks, but this is unlikely because the acid tanks in the ship were well equipped with safety devices,'' a coast guard official said.
The Coast Guard collected samples of water from the sea at the apparent shipwreck site to test for contaminant levels.