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Captain of grounded ferry never manned bridge in perilous channel, says Coast Guard

Published: 25 Nov. 2025, 15:08

The passenger ferry Queen Jenuvia II is seen docked at a port in Mokpo, South Jeolla, on Nov. 20. [YONHAP]

MOKPO, South Jeolla — The captain of a passenger ferry that ran aground in a narrow channel off the coast of Shinan County, South Jeolla, last Wednesday never once manned the bridge in that perilous stretch of water during nearly one year and nine months of service, according to investigators.

The Korea Coast Guard is also investigating whether the Mokpo Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) failed in its duties after confirming that the route deviation alert system had been turned off even before the incident.

The captain of the passenger ferry Queen Jenuvia II had never taken the ferry's bridge while passing through the waters where the grounding occurred over 1,000 times since the ship entered service on Feb. 28, 2024, according to the Mokpo Coast Guard on Monday.

The captain is accused of having failed in his duty to command the ship as it was navigating the narrow channel off Shinan County, leading to a collision with an uninhabited island.

The Coast Guard has requested a detention warrant on charges of gross negligence resulting in injury and violating the Seafarers Act. Thirty of the 267 people aboard the vessel suffered minor injuries.

The Coast Guard found that the captain was resting in his cabin next to the bridge at the time of the accident, claiming it was outside his scheduled duty hours. He only headed to the bridge after the ship struck the island.

The Mokpo Coast Guard conducts a rescue operation after the Queen Jenuvia II ran aground near Jokdo, Jangsan-myeon, Shinan County, South Jeolla, at around 8:17 p.m. on Nov. 19. [MOKPO COAST GUARD]

On the day of the incident, the captain reportedly remained in the cabin next to the bridge after giving departure orders from Jeju Island and did not return to the bridge again.

Under the Seafarers Act, a captain is required to be on the bridge during departure or arrival, when passing through narrow channels, and when navigating dangerous areas prone to collisions or groundings.

The captain told investigators he had been monitoring the navigation situation from his cabin, which was equipped with a monitoring system similar to the one on the bridge. He said he was unable to properly observe the route on the day of the accident due to digestive issues.

The first mate of Queen Jenuvia II, center, accused of accidentally grounding the ferry carrying 246 passengers and 21 crew members off the southeast coast on Nov. 19, answers questions from reporters at the Gwangju District Court's Mokpo branch in Gwangju on Nov. 22. [YONHAP]

The Coast Guard has also arrested the ship's first mate and a helmsman on charges of gross negligence resulting in injury. Both were on the bridge at the time of the accident and are suspected of being distracted and relying on the ship’s autopilot system without executing a course change, causing the vessel to crash into the island.

The first mate issued a belated order to change course just 13 seconds before impact, according to the Coast Guard. A simulation run by Mokpo National Maritime University showed the ship should have begun turning at least 500 meters (1,640 feet) before the island to avoid a collision.

Authorities also confirmed that the route deviation alert system at Mokpo VTS was turned off at the time of the accident. They plan to charge the VTS operator with professional negligence resulting in injury.

The route deviation alert system is designed to notify VTS staff immediately when a ship deviates from its designated course.

Coast Guard and National Forensic Service officials conduct a forensic examination on the ferry Queen Jenuvia II near Mokpo, South Jeolla, on Nov. 20. [YONHAP]

The VTS operator told investigators that he did not turn off the alarm — it had already been turned off. He reportedly added that the alarm often disrupted work because it would trigger for small fishing boats, making it difficult to focus on more critical cases.

At the time of the accident, the operator did not recognize that Queen Jenuvia II had deviated from its route until the first officer reported the incident.

The Yellow Sea Coast Guard, which oversees Mokpo VTS, said that the VTS operator was monitoring a total of five vessels at the time of the incident, including the Queen Jenuvia II, and had been focused on another large vessel that had also deviated from its route.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHOI KYEONG-HO, HWANG HEE-GYU [[email protected]]