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The sinking of the Jeju-based cargo ship Golden Rose off the coast of Dalian on Saturday, with 16 sailors lost, is full of unanswered questions. The first question is why the Chinese vessel, the Jinsheng, which is said to have collided with the Golden Rose, did not rush to rescue its sailors. The Jinsheng reportedly docked at Dalian port seven hours later and reported to Chinese authorities that the Golden Rose appeared to be sinking following the collision. Fleeing the scene of a collision amid clear signs the other vessel will sink is a clear violation of international maritime law. The scene of the collision was only 61 km off the coast of Dalian. Only if the Jinsheng had sent an SOS signal on behalf of the Golden Rose, then most of its missing sailors would be alive.
Korean maritime police only found out about the accident after the owner of the Golden Rose notified them of the collision and Korean authorities questioned Chinese officials. In April this year, Korea and China signed a pact to cooperate in maritime rescue operations. That pact has yet to take effect, but it is inexplicable that the two countries, which share a vast ocean, do not even have an emergency communications channel.
Korean maritime authorities say they notified Cheong Wa Dae, the Foreign Ministry and 28 other government agencies of the accident by fax starting at 8:11 p.m. But an official at the Foreign Ministry¡¯s situation room did not see that fax until 11:30 p.m. ? because he was busy monitoring TV news. In other words, the official who was manning the situation room watched TV for more than three hours. Not one of the 28 government agencies that received the fax reportedly called maritime authorities to check the information. That night, the fax machines were the only things on duty at the Korean government.
In February of last year, when a Chinese cargo vessel was sinking off the coast of Wando island, Korean maritime police risked their own lives and boarded the vessel, rescuing all of its 14 crew. The thanks from the Chinese government were to abandon a Korean vessel that was in grave danger after colliding with a Chinese ship. Korean maritime authorities and the Foreign Ministry must clarify why such an accident occurred under what circumstances, why the Chinese vessel failed to help and what problems there were in the Korean government response.
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