Everything is set to hoist sunken Sewol ferry
.jpg?w=728)
Two mothers of victims whose bodies have yet to be recovered in the sinking of the Sewol ferry sit side by side facing the sea at Paengmok Port in Jindo, South Jeolla Province, Sunday. / Yonhap
By Lee Kyung-min
The government completed preparations, Sunday, to salvage the Sewol ferry that sank off the southwestern coast three years ago, the country's worst maritime disaster that killed more than 300 people, mostly high school students on a school trip.
Sunday's final test on operating equipment ended without problems, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries. The equipment includes a hydraulic jacking device with 66 wires and a central control sensor.
A semisubmersible ship that is to carry the Sewol about 87 kilometers from the point of the accident to a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province, is fully prepared to navigate without problems, the ministry added. The ministry planned to raise the ferry up to 2 meters from the seabed by using hydraulic pressure, but withdrew due to high sea waves.
The ministry said the only thing left is a test lifting which can happen anytime between Wednesday and April 5, the date the ministry projects to start the salvage process. Yet, wind and wave height may still hinder it.
A special committee to inspect the ferry will be ready soon, as the law will go into effect Tuesday.
According to the law, an eight-member committee will be allowed to investigate the matter for six months including ferry inspection and recovering bodies inside the ferry and their belongings.
Lifting the 145-meter, 6,825-ton ferry has been undertaken jointly by the ministry and Shanghai Salvage, a Chinese contractor.