Posted on 05/13/2007 11:14:13 PM PDT by TigerLikesRooster
Chinese Vessel Suspected of “Hit-and-Run” Attempt
MAY 14, 2007 07:45
Sharp criticism is arising over allegations that the crew on the Chinese container ship Jinsheng neglected the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), after they kept sailing away after colliding with the Korean freighter Golden Rose, leaving 16 lives in need of rescue behind them.
“They have irresponsibly broken agreements formed between states by disregarding the seamen crying out for help. The Korean government has to take diplomatic measures to punish this misdeed of the Chinese,” said the families of the missing sailors.
Arousing Criticism-
Pundits of maritime affairs say that the Chinese sailors deserve censure for leaving the site without rescuing the Koreans in such an emergency.
Kim Yeong-gu, a retired professor of law at Korea Maritime University, said, “Even if the automatic distress signal transmitter of the Korean vessel was out of order, if the staff members of Jinsheng had taken action to rescue the sailors and sent SOS signals, the Chinese government could have provided immediate support.”
He argues that if the Chinese authorities were not informed about the accident until seven hours it took place, it is evident that the Chinese crew didn’t follow even the most rudimentary procedures.
The sailors of the Jinsheng could be punished by their own domestic law. The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that vessels that have received SOS signals or crashed into other ships are obliged to render assistance to the victims. Conventions such as SOLAS or Search And Rescue (SAR) established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) also have similar clauses.
Since China is a member state to the IMO, the crew of the Jinsheng could be punished under their domestic law. An official in the Search and Rescue Division of the Korea Coast Guard (KCG) said, “Although the Chinese vessel, according to SOLAS standard procedures, had the obligation to provide assistance, they did nothing close to that.”
“Likely to be a hit-and-run case”-
Experts in maritime affairs argue that the Jinsheng crew was trying to flee from the scene. A KCG official in the Search and Rescue Division said, “It is a matter of common sense to clarify where responsibility lies after an accident, just like when a car crashes on land. The fact that the Chinese vessel ran away from the site demonstrates that it is very likely they were responsible for the incident.” The KCG believes that the Chinese cargo ship hit the Golden Rose on the side.
The KCG guesses that it must have taken less than 10 minutes for the Golden Rose to sink, as it was carrying 5,900 tons of metallic coils.
The collision took place at 4:05 a.m. on May 12. The sailors must have had trouble finding their life jackets, due to the heavy mist and darkness.
2.5 hours to take action-
The Korean Consulate General in Qingdao and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in China disagreed with assertions that the Chinese government responded too slowly to the situation.
The Chinese authorities began a search operation 2 hours and 35 minutes after they first received the report. Although this could be regarded as too late by Korean standards, considering the bureaucratic procedures of sending the report to and receiving orders from the central government in Beijing past the local government of Shandong Province, two hours is a reasonable time span, according to the embassy.
Foreign officials said that Shandong Province Governor Ha Yuqun issued an order to “mobilize all possible measures to search for the sailors.” Rescue operations continued throughout the night on May 12.
China dispatched an air-sea rescue helicopter to the site at 2:15 p.m. and found two lifeboats and some articles from the wrecked ship.
The KCG is also facing backlash, as it took more than six hours for them to file a report to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade at 8:11 p.m., after receiving the initial report about the incident at 1:58 p.m. on May 12, from Bukwang Shipping Co., a Busan-based company.
A KGC official explained, “We took all necessary measures, such as sending rescue requests. It just took us some time after we first received the initial report to figure out the status of the rescue operations and whether the freighter sank.”
Ping!
Damn.
This Chinese Capitan and crew have no excuse.
(The paranoid voice in my head says that they didn’t want anyone to stumble over the contraband they were carrying during any investigation)...
The paranoid voice in my head says that they didn’t want anyone to stumble over the contraband they were carrying during any investigation
A possibility we cannot dismiss out of hand.
Lawless governments breed lawless citizens.
Just when I thought the meds weren’t working....
If this receives any play at all in the Korean media, I expect Koreans to get all riled up. The whole Koguryo dispute is apparently sensitizing Koreans to the fact that Japan isn’t the only country that has conquered Korean land.
They have. China is not exactly popular here these days.
In all likelihood the Chinese ship was carrying contraband to or from North Korea, such as shield containerized fissile material, or nuclear missile parts, or weapons bound for Iran or other places.
The Chinese will make a big public show of punishing the ship's captain, who will be rewarded behind closed doors.
Soon China will own the Pacific, she already controls much of the Western Pacific.
Yup.
Most likely.
I am sorry, but you people are complete and utter idiots, and I mean this in the most condescending manner possible.
A collision between two merchant vessels in a convoluted manner becomes...
1) Chinese vessel carrying contraband
2) Contraband becomes fissile material, missile components, or weapons to or from North Korean or possibly Iran
3) Chinese vessel is a military vessel operated by the “Red Army” (Im assuming you mean PLA)and under rules of war.
4) A public punishment of the Captain and a private award of a medal (for doing what I don’t really know).
I don’t know which territory is more fertile, your imaginations or your asses because it seems like you are pulling equally from both categories.
The Jinsheng is a containerized cargo vessel operated by a local Chinese carrier, Shandong Lufeng Shipping Company Ltd. It’s likely cargo would have probably have been Wal-Mart crap. It was traveling a routine domestic route in China from the port of Yantai to Dalian. The collision occurred around 3:00AM local time (The South Koreans say 4:00 but that is South Korean time) in the dead of night amidst heavy fog.
The likeliest and most plausible explanation is that most of the crew aboard both vessels were asleep at the time. Because of the time and weather conditions, the Jinsheng, lacking any specialized rescue tools, would likely not have been able to make any meaningful rescue attempt (You literally cannot see 5 feet in front of you in such weather). The incident was reported once the Jinsheng arrived at it’s destination in Dalian.
The only question is why didn’t the Jinsheng radio in as soon as the accident happened.
Wadda ya mean???
Ships are required to hang about to see if there are any survivors. Shouting, firing flare guns (for illumination) and throwing ropes in the water is better than nothing. It's the kind of thing mariners did before aircraft were invented.
The only question is why didn’t the Jinsheng radio in as soon as the accident happened.
So they could make the delivery on time without being ordered to stop? So they could pretend it never happened? And then changed their minds after it became clear they couldn't avoid the blame?
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