South Korean ferry sinking

[+and-then]

If the North Koreans were responsible for the sinking, how did they achieve it?

I did not assert that they did - only said it was a suspicion of what might have occurred. If an explosive device were used it will quickly be determined when divers have a chance to look over the hull. A relatively new vessel of this size and configuration would not tip or go down so easily without some kind of catastrophic malfunction - the question is what was it?

[RoofGardener]

OK... the coast guard have released a transcript of the conversations between the Sewol, and the Coastguard. (or rather, the Vessel Traffic Services centres).

http://edition.cnn.com/2014/04/18/world/asia/south-korea-ferry-transcript/

Harrowing stuff. What I find most interesting is that within 30 minutes of the first emergency transmission, the ship is already listing at a catastrophic 50 degrees. Indeed, within 10 minutes of the first "mayday", the Sewol declares that the list is too large to permit evacuation.

So either the crew delayed for AGES before making the first emergency call at 08:55.

OR... the event was incredibly rapid, and the ship went from "no problems" to "listing heavily" within a remarkably short period of time.

QUESTION: is it conceivable that the ship was actually taking on water over an extended period, without anyone noticing ? Then, when the helmsman made a routine course adjustment, this water "sloshed" to one side, sharpening the turn, and triggering (and then sustaining) the list ?

Edited April 22, 2014 by Still Waters
Replaced text with source link

[Yamato]

If hard earth bites the side of a ship's hull it could make a very sudden turn indeed. At some degree of list gravity will overcome the stability and unfortunately the buoyancy of any ship, but there are other factors here conflating this event. The weather, the size of the swells, the vectors of the current, the size, displacement, condition, weight distribution of the vessel, the presence of rocks, mistakes and cowardice in the crew...any one of these alone can't explain what truly happened well enough. Just like campfires that can't melt steel had nothing to do with the twin towers collapsing, not being able to handle multiple factors at once is where the conspiracy theories often come from.

And yet how much would I bet that "the sinking of this ferry could prove an opportunity for us..." drool the neocons. Having enemies to blame for the problems of the world is most conducive to war after all.

[MordorOrc]

OR... the event was incredibly rapid, and the ship went from "no problems" to "listing heavily" within a remarkably short period of time.

Large vessels such as ferries can capsize literally within minutes if enough water can get in and destabilize the vessel. Once it's destabilized, it will list thus filling more of the affected part of the ship with water, causing it to list even more. Repeat process until vessel is upside down and underwater. For example, the Herald of Free Enterprise capsized in 90 seconds.

This isn't the first time a ferry in South Korea has capsized. One sunk 21 years ago in 1993 killing a similar number of people.

Edited April 21, 2014 by MordorOrc

[nichryan]

SK PM said sorry and quit on his position. Really,it was tragic but we all hope everything will be okay.

[RoofGardener]

There have been a few updates.

Apparantly, the enquiry has established the primary cause of the sinking: Cargo Shifting.

The ship is rated for about 1000 tons of cargo... but there where 3500 tons aboard that day. (this is , of course, illegal).

In addition, the ship had been modified from its original design to incorporate more passenger cabins, reducing its inherent stability.

Arrest Warrents are flowing ... the owners of the shipping line are now being called in .. and the net is widening.

(source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_MV_Sewol#Causes

[Peter B]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-05-15/south-korea-indicts-four-crew-members-of-ferry-for-manslaughter/5454998

South Korean prosecutors have indicted the captain and three other crew members of the ferry that sank last month on charges of manslaughter through gross negligence.

If convicted, Captain Lee Joon-Seok of the Sewol ferry, two navigators and a chief engineer could face the death sentence.

They are accused of leaving the ship as it was sinking while telling passengers - mostly high school students on a school excursion - to stay where they were.

Short of being utterly addled by panic, I can't see any reason for the crew to tell the passengers to stay put while they left the ship.