Ferry Crew's Phone Use Leads to Island Collision

An incident took place when the passenger ferry Queen Jenuvia 2 collided with an uninhabited island near the coast of Sinan, in South Jeolla...

An incident took place when the passenger ferry Queen Jenuvia 2 collided with an uninhabited island near the coast of Sinan, in South Jeolla Province, on the night of the 19th. This happened just three minutes after the first officer in charge of the bridge checked a mobile phone instead of paying attention to navigation, as reported by a coast guard investigation on the 20th. The captain, who was supposed to oversee the bridge, was not present, and the helmsman, who should have assisted the first officer, did not notice the bow heading towards the island. The negligence of the captain and crew almost resulted in a major accident with significant casualties.

As reported by the Mokpo Coast Guard, the Queen Jenuvia 2, a passenger ferry with a displacement of 26,546 tons, ran aground following a collision with the uninhabited island of Jokdo around 8:17 p.m. on the 19th. The vessel was moving at a speed of 22 to 23.4 knots—equivalent to 40 to 43 km/h—before the incident, which fell within standard operational limits. A coast guard representative stated, “The voyage data recorder indicates the ferry kept this speed consistently. If the crew had noticed Jokdo, they would have slowed down, but they did not.”

The ferry maintained its regular speed until the collision due to the crew's excessive dependence on the "autopilot system." During the incident, the bridge was occupied by First Officer Park (40) and an Indonesian helmsman in his 40s, named A. As per the coast guard, they programmed the autopilot to head towards Jokdo and kept moving forward, resulting in the accident.

A correct process required manually taking control of the autopilot before arriving at Jokdo. The region is a confined passage filled with numerous rocky islets and hidden rocks, requiring the crew to navigate visually. The distance between the accident location and the usual path was just 240 meters. A coast guard representative stated, "The crew should have turned the wheel 90 degrees east approximately 1.6 km south of Jokdo, but they failed to do so. The ferry continued straight for three minutes and then struck Jokdo—similar to a fast-moving car hitting a structure."

During an initial inquiry, First Officer Park stated, "I attempted to steer the wheel to prevent a collision, but it didn't react, which slowed down the action." However, after more questioning, he confessed, "I was looking at news on my phone and didn't switch to manual control." Park began working with Seaworld Express Ferry, the company that operates the Queen Jenuvia 2, eight years ago and has been serving as first officer since 2023.

The coast guard also blames Captain Kim, who is in his 60s. According to Article 9 of the Seafarers Act, captains are required to personally manage navigation when entering or leaving ports or passing through narrow waterways. The coast guard said, "We think the captain failed to fulfill his responsibility to supervise under the Seafarers Act." Kim is said to have stated, "I left the bridge because it was outside my scheduled work time."

The coast guard detained First Officer Park and A on the same day. They intend to file charges of serious negligence causing harm and have requested a bench warrant. Additionally, they will perform a forensic examination of the crew's mobile devices to assess their actions during the incident. The coast guard stated, "We will also look into whether the crew had previously used autopilot when navigating the hazardous area."

The Mokpo Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) Center, which is in charge of overseeing maritime dangers, also failed to identify the incident. The center did not recognize any irregularities until it received a report from the crew stating that the Queen Jenuvia 2 had struck the island. In response, Director Kim Sung-yoon of the Mokpo VTS Center stated, “At that moment, one operator was tracking five ships, and the accident happened within three minutes, so we were unable to detect it promptly. There were issues with our monitoring process.”

When the coast guard arrived, the ferry's front was wedged against a rock, leaning approximately 15 degrees to the left, with its lower hull damaged. The damage wasn't serious enough to stop the ferry from arriving at Mokpo's Samhak Port by itself. The coast guard said, "We are examining the voyage data recorder and onboard video footage. We will identify the precise cause of the incident through a forensic investigation conducted by the National Forensic Service."