By Kim Bo-eun
Both the tanker and fishing boat which collided off the coast of Incheon earlier this month and killed 15 people were responsible for the accident, the Coast Guard said in a briefing, Tuesday.
“The captain and deckhand of the tanker and the captain of the fishing boat face charges of professional negligence resulting in death, injuries and the capsizing of a vessel,” the Incheon Coast Guard said.
The captain and a crew member of a tanker, who were booked and detained earlier, have been forwarded to the prosecution.
The captain of the fishing boat died in the accident and therefore only records of the case for him were sent to the prosecution.
The collision between the 336-ton tanker and 9.77-ton fishing boat in the West Sea off Yeongheung Island on Dec. 3 caused the latter to capsize, killing 15 of the 22 people who were on board. Seven were rescued.
Investigations showed both vessels were responsible for the accident. The vessels were only 300 meters apart before the collision occurred.
“Both captains had the duty to change speed and direction, and communicate via radio but neither took any action to prevent the collision,” the Coast Guard said.
Investigations showed the tanker collided with the fishing boat from behind.
The captain was the only one on duty on the tanker because the deckhand had left the bridge. This was in violation of safety rules which bans only one person being on duty in the steering house during night hours. The accident occurred around 6 a.m.
The tanker captain reportedly said during questioning that he saw the fishing boat but did not take action because he thought the fishing boat would.
The deckhand was in the tanker’s mess at the time of the collision.
Both captains held legitimate licenses to steer the vessels and the number of passengers on the vessel did not exceed the limit. None of those on board had been under the influence of alcohol.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries is set to look into whether the Coast Guard had aptly responded to the report of the accident.
Following criticism that the Coast Guard did not come to rescue quickly enough, Minister Kim Young-choon told reporters on Monday the ministry will draw up a team to look into the case and punish those responsible.
The fishing boat accident resulted in the largest number of casualties since another in September 2015 which killed 15 and left three missing.