Hundreds missing as S Korea ferry sinks

[Das_Booties]

Originally Posted by Oberon

I must admit, the fact that it's a well built Japanese ferry and the South Koreans aren't generally known for smashing their ferries into things...and the dull thud before the ship started listing and the rapidity of the sinking...

It does sound dreadfully familiar to anyone who has studied the uboat war and survivors of torpedo impacts...

I hope that it is not, and I also dearly hope that they are able to get more survivors off the wreck.

Are you implying that the ferry was sunk (accidentally or intentionally) by a submarine? Just curious

[Oberon]

Originally Posted by Das_Booties

Are you implying that the ferry was sunk (accidentally or intentionally) by a submarine? Just curious

It was one possibility of many, although if it were to have been the case I imagine the divers would have noticed the big gaping hole in the side of the ship by now....

Originally Posted by Dread Knot

It kinda makes me wonder if he underestimated the seriousness of the situation and was trying to avoid an embarrassing and expensive evacuation.

I think that this is the most likely reason that the evacuation was such a mess.

[Aktungbby]

Originally Posted by Oberon

is all sounding a bit familiar...

Originally Posted by Dread Knot

He found his own raft soon enough.

Indeed! the whole sordid affair reminds me of 1965's Classic Lord Jim or "what not to do when you are a ship's officer"

[Jimbuna]

Probably more horror stories like this to come in the next few days

Divers searching a sunken passenger ferry off South Korea found 48 bodies in a single room on the vessel meant to accommodate 38 people, officials say.

The group was crammed into a dormitory and all were wearing lifejackets, a South Korean Navy officer said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-27162157

[Aktungbby]

a series of small details often leading to the greater calamity as with Titanic.

http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304518704579518993969767898 If the news media is to be trusted: it looks as though a ship redesign to allow more passengers and three time the weight limit in freight may have been a major contributing factor. In either case, if I were a load master for the vessel I'd be searching for a swift pinto and headed North just about now. All this needs is a proper scapegoat..."Just before departing the port of Incheon on Tuesday last week, the ship, the Sewol, reported by radio to the Korea Shipping Association that it was loaded with 3,608 tons of cargo. The maximum recommended weight of cargo for the Sewol was 987 tons, an official at Korean Register said on Wednesday." "In addition to investigating possible overloading, prosecutors are looking into whether the ferry was safe for operation after a redesign early last year, said Mr. Kim. Modifications included adding extra passenger cabins, raising the passenger capacity by more than 150 people, and increasing the ship's weight by almost 240 tons, the Korean Register said." As in my previous post ...details... but now they are more comprehensive perhaps.