Details emerge in case of MSDF collision with Korean container ship
As an investigation into the collision of a MSDF destroyer and a Korean container ship proceeds, more details are becoming available. This story has been a big topic on 2-channel, where many theories are floating around and some users are putting a lot of effort into investigating the cause of the collision. The Asahi Shimbun’s decision to edit an online article and remove a passage suggesting that the Korean ship may have been at fault has fed the fury.
Here are some images created by Japanese netizens, combined with details that have emerged since yesterday:
Some details from the Chugoku Shimbun:
【速報】護衛艦接近側からの追い越し指示 関門海峡管制官
護衛艦くらまと韓国籍コンテナ船が衝突した事故で海上保安庁は28日、関門海峡をレーダー監視している海上交通センターの管制官が、韓国船に「前方の貨物船は左側から追い越してほしい。前から護衛艦が来ているので注意を」と、護衛艦に近づく形での航行を指示していたことを明らかにした。
In the incident where the destroyer Kurama and the South Korean container ship collided, the Japan Coast guard revealed on the 28th that, the control officer monitoring the Kanmon Strait by radar had advised the South Korean ship to “pass the cargo ship in front on the left side. Take note there is a destroyer approaching from the front”, directing it on a path that would take it closer to the destroyer.
A Google Earth view of the location where the collision took place, created by this Japanese blog:
The red arrow indicates the Japanese ship’s course, while the green arrow indicates the correct course for the Korean container ship. The yellow arrow shows where the container ship crossed into the path of the destroyer.
An English article from Mainichi has also provided some interesting information, including a phrase pointing out that the destroyer might have been able to take evasive action and avoid the collision:
Defense Ministry and other officials said it was a rule for vessels passing through the Kanmon Strait between the Japanese islands of Kyushu and Honshu to keep to the right. The Kurama, which was heading west, was on the Yamaguchi Prefecture (Honshu) side of the strait and the Carina Star was on the Kitakyushu side. However, coast guard officials said the collision occurred on the Yamaguchi Prefecture side, and a freighter was traveling in front of the container ship.
Based on an explanation from the company that owns the container ship and on the state of damage of the two vessels, officials say there is a high possibility that the accident occurred when the container ship steered to the left to pass the freighter in front of it and entered the path of the Kurama. Coast guard officials are investigating whether the destroyer’s crash avoidance measures were insufficient.
Keep an eye on the comments section of this post for more details, as this site’s readers are really good at finding up-to-date information. Almost all of the information of in this post comes from comments left by Helical under yesterday’s post about the collision.
- Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
- dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
