Transportation Management (TRANS MGT) – Water Transportation
Local – MV St. Thomas Aquinas
Introduction
MV St. Thomas Aquinas was a Philippine-registered passenger ferry operated by 2GO Travel. On 16 August 2013, the vessel collided with a cargo ship named MV Sulpicio Express Siete of Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation (formerly Sulpicio Lines) causing it to sink. As of 21 August 2013, there were 61 dead and 59 missing with 750 rescued as a result of the accident.
Career
Name: St. Thomas Aquinas ex-Superferry 2 ex-Aboitiz Superferry 2 ex-Ferry Sumiyoshi
Owner: 2Go Group, Inc.
Operator: 2GO Travel
Port of registry: Philippines Manila, Philippines
Ordered: 1 January 1972
Builder: Onomichi Dockyard Co, Onomichi
Yard number: 239
Launched: 19 December 1972
Completed: March 1973
Out of service: 16 August 2013
Identification: IMO number: 7304663
Fate: Sank following collision with Sulpicio Express Siete
General Characteristics
Type: ROPAX Ferry
Tonnage: 11,405 GRT, 5,869 NRT, 2,994 DWT
Length: 138.6 m (455 ft.)
Beam: 22 m (72 ft.)
Installed power: Two Mitsubishi diesel engines (2 × 5,670 kW)
Propulsion: Two shafts; fixed pitch propellers
Speed: 19 knots (35 km/h; 22 mph)
Crew: 116
Vessel
The ferry, named after the Catholic Saint Thomas Aquinas, was a 455-foot (139 m) long roll-on/roll-off ferry capable of transporting both passengers and their vehicles. It measured 11,000 tons and was commissioned in 1973. It was operated by 2Go at the time of its sinking.
Sinking
Collision
On Friday, 16 August 2013, St. Thomas Aquinas departed from Nasipit, Agusan del Norte, on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. At approximately 21:00 PHT (13:00 UTC), it was heading into the port at Cebu City via the Cebu Strait when it collided with MV Sulpicio Express Siete (IMO 7724344), a cargo ship owned by the Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation that was leaving port, approximately 1.2 miles (1.9 km) from Talisay, Cebu. St. Thomas Aquinas immediately began to take on water, prompting the captain to order the ship abandoned. The crew hurriedly handed out life jackets as hundreds of passengers jumped overboard. Within 30 minutes, the ship sank.
At the time of the collision, St. Thomas Aquinas was carrying 715 passengers (58 were infants) and 116 crew members. Many passengers were asleep at the time or otherwise had trouble finding their way to the deck in the dark. A spokesperson for 2Go said there was a high probability that some passengers were in the area of impact and were trapped by the damage. The Sulpicio Express Siete, which did not sink, has 36 crew members on board. Sulpicio Express Siete was severely damaged at the bow in the accident.
Local fishermen saw several flares–a sign of distress–being launched from St. Thomas Aquinas and helped with initial rescue efforts. "We just picked up the survivors and left the dead in the water," said a rescuer. "I heard screams and crying." The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) is conducting the formal rescue efforts. Rescued passengers were taken to local hotels.
Casualties
On Saturday, 17 August 2013, divers began the process of recovering bodies from the sunken ship, but suspended operations later in the day due to safety concerns. 31 people were confirmed dead with 172 others missing as of midday, when rescue operations were suspended due to rough seas. By 18 August, there were 35 confirmed deaths and 85 others missing as a result of the accident. On 19 August, the Coast Guard confirmed 55 dead and 65 missing with 750 rescued. Rescue and recovery efforts have been hampered by bad weather.
The death toll is "almost certain" to rise, according to the Philippine Coast Guard. Many of the survivors were sickened after swallowing seawater and oil believed to have leaked from St. Thomas Aquinas.
Cause
A cause for the accident has not yet been determined, and an official investigation will be launched after rescue efforts are ended. In a statement, 2Go said St. Thomas Aquinas "was reportedly hit" by Sulpicio Line's cargo vessel, but at the same time refused to directly blame the cargo vessel. 2Go also said the Port of Cebu is unusually narrow and that special traffic control measures were in use to try to avoid accidents at the port.
Maritime accidents in the Philippines are common due to a combination of bad weather, poor maintenance, and lax enforcement of safety regulations. The Philippine Span Asia Carrier Corporation (operator of Sulpicio Lines) has been involved in five maritime disasters, most notably the 1987 sinking of the ferry Doña Paz that resulted in an estimated 4,000+ deaths.
Official investigation
A Special Board of Marine Inquiry was opened on 23 August in Cebu City, led by Commodore Gilbert Rueras of the Philippine Coast Guard. The captains of the MV St Thomas Aquinas and the Sulpicio Express Siete testified, as did Captain Galipher Ian Faller, captain of a Trans-Asia Shipping Lines cargo ship in the area, the Trans Asia Nine. Captain Galipher of the Trans Asia Nine testified that the Sulpicio Line Siete was in the inbound lane instead of the outbound lane.
Long-term implications
Oil and fuel are leaking from the shipwreck. The ferry was carrying 120,000 litres (31,701 US gal) of bunker fuel, 20,000 litres (5,283 US gal) of diesel fuel, and 20,000 litres (5,283 US gal) of lube oil. Owner 2Go is using spill-containment equipment in the area, but local fishing is already being affected. The spilled petroleum is expected to also contaminate local beaches and mangrove swamps, further damaging Cebu's ecosystem and economy.

International – Sinking of the MV Sewol
Introduction
The sinking of the MV Sewol occurred on 16 April 2014 en route from Incheon to Jeju. The Japanese-built South Korean ferry capsized while carrying 476 people, mostly secondary school students from Danwon High School (Ansan City). The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 kilometres (1.7 mi) north off Byeongpungdo at 08:58 Korea Standard Time (23:58 UTC, 15 April 2014). Around 300 people died in the disaster. Of the approximate 172 survivors, many were rescued by fishing boats and other commercial vessels, which were first on the scene before the arrival approximately 30 minutes later of the South Korean coast guard and ROK Navy ships, backed by helicopters. There are ongoing recovery efforts by the South Korean government, the United States Navy, civilian groups, and individuals.
The sinking of the Sewol has resulted in widespread social and political reaction within South Korea, ranging from criticism of the actions of the captain and most of the crew of the ferry, to criticism of the ferry operator and the regulators who oversaw its operations, to criticism of the South Korean government and media for its disaster response and attempts to downplay government culpability. On 15 May 2014, the captain and 3 crew members were charged with murder, while the other 11 members of the crew were indicted for abandoning the ship. An arrest warrant was also issued for Yoo Byung-eun, the owner of Chonghaejin Marine, which operated the Sewol, but he could not be found despite a nationwide manhunt. On 22 July 2014, police revealed that they had established that a dead man found in a field 415 kilometres south of Seoul was Yoo. Foul play was ruled out, but police said they had yet to establish the cause of Yoo's death.
About
Date: 16 April 2014
Location: 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) off Donggeochado, Jindo County, South Jeolla Province
Coordinates: 34°13′5″N 125°57′0″ECoordinates: 34°13′5″N 125°57′0″E
Deaths: 294 on-board, 1 navy sailor, 2 civilian divers, 5 emergency workers
Missing: 10
Inquest: At least 2 ongoing
Suspect(s): 12 Crew
Charges: 12 Crew
Litigation: Ongoing
On board: 476 (mostly students from Danwon High School)
Survivors: 172 (171 excluding the subsequent suicide of the vice principal of Danwon High School)
Career
Name: Ferry Naminoue (1994–2012); Sewol (2013–2014)
Owner: Oshima Unyu, Kagoshima, Japan (1994–2007)
A-Line Ferry Company, Kagoshima, Japan (2007–2012)
Chonghaejin Marine Co., Ltd., Incheon, South Korea (2012–2014)
Port of registry: Naze, Japan (1994–2012); Incheon, South Korea (2012–2014)
Builder: Hayashikane Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd., Nagasaki, Japan
Yard number: 1006
Launched: 13 April 1994
Completed: June 1994
Identification: IMO number: 9105205
Fate: Capsized and sank on 16 April 2014
General Characteristics Type: RoPax ferry
Tonnage: 6,835 GT, 3,794 DWT
Length: 145.61 m (477 ft. 9 in)
Beam: 22.00 m (72 ft. 2 in)
Draught: 6.26 m (20 ft. 6 in)
Depth: 14.00 m (45 ft. 11 in)
Installed power: 2 × Diesel United-Pielstick 12PC2-6V-400
11,912 kW (15,974 hp) (combined)
Propulsion: Two shafts; fixed pitch propellers
Bow and stern thrusters
Speed: 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph)
Capacity: As Sewol: 921 passengers, 88 cars, 60 8-ton trucks
As Ferry Naminoue: 804 passengers, 90 cars, and 60 trucks
Crew: 35
Background
The Sewol
MV Sewol (Beyond the world) was built by the Japanese company Hayashikane Shipbuilding & Engineering Co. Ltd. in 1994. At 146 m (479 ft.) in length and 22 m (72 ft.) in width, she could carry 921 passengers, or a total of 956 persons, including the crew. She had a legal capacity for 180 vehicles and 154 regular cargo containers. The maximum speed of the ship was 22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph).
The Sewol was originally known as the Ferry Naminoue between 1994 and 2012, and had been operated in Japan for almost 18 years without any accidents. In 2012, the ship was later bought for ₩11.6 billion (US$11.3 million) by Chonghaejin Marine Company, renamed Sewol, and refurbished. Modifications included adding extra passenger cabins on the third, fourth, and fifth decks, raising the passenger capacity by 117, and increasing the weight of the ship by 239 tons. After regulatory and safety checks by the Korean Register of Shipping, the ship began her operation in South Korea on 15 March 2013. The ship made three round-trips every week from Incheon to Jeju. Two months before the sinking, it was reported that Sewol again passed a vessel safety inspection by the South Korean Coast Guard following an intermediate survey to ensure the ship remained in a general condition which satisfied requirements set by the Korean Register of Shipping.
The South Korea government's Board of Audit and Inspection revealed that the Korean Register's licensing was based on falsified documents. After the incident, the company reported that the ship was carrying 124 cars, 56 trucks, and 1157 tons of cargo. The amount of cargo carried was two times the legal limit.
Passengers
There was initial confusion about the number of passengers. Chonghaejin Marine declared in the departure report that 450 passengers and 24 crew members were on board. Secondary reports placed the number anywhere between 350 and 500. Right after the incident, the Ministry of Security and Public Administration vice-minister, Lee Gyeon-og, stated that there were 459 people aboard: 30 crew members, 325 high school students from Danwon High School, 15 school teachers and 89 non-student passengers. Chonghaejin Marine was also inconsistent but settled the number at 475.
On 18 April, the government confirmed the number to be 476. News organizations such as JoongAng Ilbo and CNN have confirmed the figure.
Crew
The initial number of crew members was reported to be 29 but was later confirmed to be 33. The captain operating the ship on the day of the incident, Lee Jun-Seok, was brought to replace another captain on leave and is considered the substitute captain.
Conditions
Ocean temperatures in the area where the ship capsized were around 12 °C (54 °F); at that temperature the time before the onset of hypothermia is approximately 90 minutes.
Capsizing
The ship departed Incheon on 9 p.m. of 15 April after a two-and-a-half-hour fog delay. The frequently-traveled 400-kilometre (250 mi) route from Incheon to Jeju usually took 13.5 hours. The vessel did not deviate from previous routes.
The capsizing began about 25 kilometres (16 mi) off the southwest coast. From 8:48 to 8:49 am (KST), there was a 36-second power outage. One minute after the blackout, the ship made a 45-degree turn and began drifting sideways. Soon afterwards, the ship began to take on water. The sinking has been attributed to making the sharp turn, being overloaded, having unsecured cargo, and being affected by past renovations. A passenger later testified that lights went out after the ferry started listing. Passengers reported feeling a tilt of the ship and hearing a loud 'bang.'

Near the time of the accident, the ship was navigating a channel. Conditions were calm and the area did not contain rocks or reefs. However, the area has been described as 'treacherous.'
At the time of the accident, the captain was in his private cabin and the third mate was at the helm. The captain is reported to have returned to the bridge and attempted to re-balance the ship immediately after the accident. At 8:52, Choi Duk-ha, a student, called the national emergency service number and was connected to the Jeollanam-do fire station and reported that the ship was capsizing. Choi was connected to the Mokpo coast guard and talked for 6 minutes. At 8:55 a.m., the ferry established contact with the Jeju vessel traffic service and asked the Jeju VTS to notify the coast guard that the ship was rolling and in danger. At 8:56 a.m., the Jeju VTS called the Jeju Coast Guard. At 8:58 a.m., the Mokpo Coast Guard dispatched a patrol vessel as a response to Choi's call. During this time, the captain told passengers to stay in their rooms. The communications officer, using the ship's intercom, repeatedly ordered passengers not to move.
On 9:07 am, the ship began communicating with the Jindo VTS, which was closer to her location. At this point, the crew confirmed to VTS that the ferry was capsizing. At 9:14 a.m., the crew stated that the ship's angle of heel made evacuation impossible. At 9:18 a.m., the crew reported that the ferry had heeled more than 50 degrees to port. The heeling was later confirmed by the Central Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters. At 9:23 a.m., VTS ordered the crew to inform the passengers to wear personal flotation devices. When the crew replied that the broadcasting equipment was out of order, VTS told them to personally order the passengers to wear life jackets and more clothing. At 9:25 a.m., VTS asked the captain to decide quickly whether to evacuate the ship, stating that VTS did not have enough information to make the decision. When the captain inquired about the rescue, VTS replied that patrol boats were due to arrive in 10 minutes and a helicopter in one minute. The captain then replied that there were too many passengers for the helicopter.
Around 9:30 a.m., the captain gave orders to evacuate the ship, though the order may not have been relayed to all the passengers. At 9:33 a.m., after confirming that nearby ships had volunteered to help in the rescue operations, VTS told all ships to drop lifeboats for the passengers. At 9:38 a.m., all communications were cut off between VTS and the ferry. About three minutes after all communications were cut, about 150 to 160 passengers and crew jumped overboard.
The Sewol took two and a half hours to sink. By around 11:18 a.m., the bow of the ship was submerged, with a section of the hull about 2 metres (6 ft. 7 in) high and 20 to 30 metres (66 to 98 ft.) long showing above the water. At 9:00 a.m. on 18 April, only 50 centimetres (20 in) of the bulbous bow was above water. As of 1:03 p.m., the ship was completely submerged.
Captain and crew
During the capsizing, some members of the crew drank beer. As passengers stayed in their cabins as instructed, the captain and crew members abandoned ship. The captain, the chief engineer, as well as the chief and second mates were the first people to be rescued. The captain was rescued around 9:46 a.m.
Passengers
During the capsizing, some passengers followed the announcements to stay put, even as the waters came in. Passengers who climbed to top of ship or jumped into the water were rescued.
Videos recording passengers during the capsizing have been made and recovered. Videos have recorded announcements to stay in place and put on life jackets, as well as passengers joking around, putting on life jackets, and sending farewells.
Passengers sent text messages and KakaoTalk mobile messages during the capsizing. The last message was sent on 10:17 a.m. Text messages and social media posts allegedly made by survivors after the capsizing have circulated in the media, but an investigation by the Cyber Terror Response Center found that passengers did not use their phones between 12:00 p.m. of 16 April and 10:00 a.m. of 17 April and that all the reported survivors' messages were fake.
Rescue operations
First day
At 8:58 a.m. (KST) on 16 April 2014, units from the ROK Navy were sent to help in the rescue effort. At 9:04 a.m., the Central Disaster Countermeasure Headquarter was created by the government of South Korea. At 9:10 a.m., a rescue operations headquarters was set up in the South Korean Coast Guard. At 9:35 a.m., The Korean Ministry of National Defense started operating Counter-disaster Headquarters. At 9:40 a.m., the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries declared the accident to be the highest state of emergency in terms of naval accidents; consequently, the Central Accident Response Headquarters was established. At the same time, the Ministry of Health and Welfare sent emergency vehicles and the first squad of the Disaster Medical Support Team to Jindo. At 11:28 a.m., the Korea Navy's Ship Salvage Unit (SSU) was reported to have been deployed for the operations.
At 2:42 p.m., 150 special forces personnel from the ROK Army Special Warfare Command, including 40 scuba divers, were sent for the operation. At this point, 196 personnel, including 82 in the SSU and 114 in the ROK Naval Special Warfare Flotilla were involved in the operations. On 3:07, the regional government of the Gyeonggi Province was reported to have started operating the Prevention and Countermeasures Headquarters. After 5 p.m., units from the SSU began undersea operations. At 5:13, the Gyeonggi-do Office of Education was reported to have started operating the Ansan Danwon High School Accident Countermeasures Report Compiling Headquarters. At 8:00, operations investigating the ship's hull was ceased.
As of 22:03, the following units were involved in rescue operations: Naval forces include sailors from the 3rd Fleet, a Dokdo-class amphibious assault ship, a Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin-class destroyer, and an Ulsan-class frigate. The ROK Air Force sent support units such as the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Sikorsky HH-60 Pave Hawk, and HH-47 variant of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook. The ROK Army sent units including 150 Special Warfare Command soldiers and 11 ambulances.
Second day At 0:30 a.m., hull investigations were started by the ROK Coast Guard with the help of flares. As of 6:00 a.m., 171 ships, 29 aircraft and 30 divers were involved in the rescue effort. The Korea Coast Guard had assigned 20 divers in teams of two. The ROK Navy had also assigned 8 divers. At 7:24 a.m., civilian groups of expert divers were reported to be helping out in the rescue operations. Starting around 2:00 p.m., rescue operations were practically stopped due to bad weather conditions. By 3:32 p.m., the number of divers had increased to 55.
Subsequent operations
At 3:00 a.m. on 18 April, cranes began arriving on the accident scene. At 10:05 a.m., divers had entered the capsized ship's hull despite strong tides, darkness and presence of silt in water, but they could not reach the passenger area. At 10:50 a.m., the ROK Coast Guard began pumping in air to support possible air pockets. The divers' entrance was later labeled a 'failure' by the Central Disaster Countermeasure Headquarters.
On 19 April, 5:40 a.m. three bodies were recovered by divers, the first from the passenger cabins on the fourth deck of the ship. On 21 April, remotely operated underwater vehicle robots (such as the Crabster) began to be used for operations.
On 6 May, an Undine Marine Industries veteran diver died while searching for bodies at a depth of 25 meters. He became the first victim among scores of mobilized divers at a ferry disaster site. In spite of the death, divers continued their searches.
On 17 July, shortly before 11:00 am, a firefighting helicopter crashed in a residential area of Gwangju. The helicopter was returning from a four day search for missing victims. Five firefighters, including two pilots, two rescue workers, and one mechanic were killed in the crash. In addition, a student on the ground received a minor injury from flying debris. The helicopter narrowly missed an apartment complex and a school, but did not cause any fatalities on the ground. The cause of the crash was not immediately clear.
Survivors and casualties Initial reports stated that rescuers retrieved 368 people from cold waters as the passengers, mostly school students, had jumped overboard when the vessel started sinking, but the South Korean government later corrected this statement, saying 295 passengers remained missing. 22 of the 29 crew survived, including 15 responsible for the navigation.
Early in the rescue efforts, a 27-year-old female crew member was found dead inside the sinking vessel and a male high school student died shortly after arriving at a hospital.
In its 17 April morning edition, The Chosun Ilbo reported that 174 people had been rescued, 4 had died, and 284 were missing. According to CNN and its affiliate YTN, six people died. News1 Korea reported that, as of 8:00 a.m. on 17 April 179 people had been rescued, 6 had died and 290 were missing. Three more people were found dead at 11:00 a.m. and the confirmed death toll rose to 9. At 10 p.m., Yonhap news confirmed that the death toll had risen to 14. By the morning of 18 April, the death toll had risen to 28. On 19 April, the death toll rose to 36. By 20 April, the death toll reached 49. By 6 May, a diver searching the sunken ferry had died; not including the diver, the death toll in the ferry disaster has risen to 264, with 38 people still missing. By 10 May 2014, the death toll has gone up to 275, with dozens more still missing. By 21 May, the death toll had risen to 288, leaving 16 missing. As of 21 May, the 16 missing were 7 Danwon High School students, 3 Danwon High School teachers, 4 other passengers, and 2 cabin crew members. On 5 and 6 June, one dead passenger and one dead cabin crew member were found, bringing the casualty count to 290, while the number of missing passengers was down to 14. By 9 June 2014, a 28-year-old female Danwon High School teacher as well as a 17-year-old male Danwon high school student was found bringing the death toll to 292 and leaving 12 missing. On 24 June, the body of a female student was recovered bringing the death toll to 293 and lowering the missing to 11, including 5 Danwon High School students. The death toll stands at 294 with 10 missing as of the 22nd July 2014 with the recovery of the last cabin crew member.
The sinking of the Sewol is the worst ferry disaster in South Korea since 14 December 1970, when the sinking of the ferry Namyoung cost 326 people out of 338 their lives.
Foreign response The American warship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6) and her helicopters assisted in the air-sea rescue operation. However, the rescue helicopter did not get the approval of the South Korean navy, so it could not participate in the rescue. USNS Safeguard (T-ARS-50) was sent to South Korea to take part in the rescue operation.
As well as a message of sympathy and condolences from the Japanese government, the Japan Coast Guard offered support. The South Korean Coast Guard declined the offer, saying that, while the offer was welcome, special assistance was not needed on this occasion.
Investigation
Causes
Direct causes
As of 17 April, the ROK Coast Guard has concluded that an "unreasonably sudden turn" to starboard, made between 8:48 and 8:49 a.m. (KST), was the cause of the capsizing. According to the Coast Guard, the sudden turn caused the cargo to shift to the left, causing the ship to experience an incline and to eventually become unmanageable for the crew. The existence of the sudden turn has been confirmed by the analysis of the ship's Automatic Identification System data. The crew of the ferry has agreed that the main cause was the sudden turn. Experts such as Lee Sang-yun, a professor and head of the environment/maritime technology institute of the Pukyong National University, have also agreed.
Overloading and not properly securing cargo are also being seen as direct causes. The MV Sewol was carrying 3,608 tons of cargo, more than three times the limit of 987 tons. The overloading was also previously noted by an off-duty captain and the first mate. Lee Sang-yun has also proposed overloading as a cause. According to the off-duty captain of the Sewol, the ship owners ignored his warning that the ship should not carry so much cargo because she would not be stable.
The Sewol was carrying only 580 tons of ballast water, much less than the recommended 2,030 tons; this would make the vessel more prone to list and capsize. South Korean newspaper The Chosun Ilbo argued that the discharging of ballast water was a cause of the incident. The crew had reportedly pumped out hundreds of tons of ballast water from the bottom of the ship in order to accommodate the additional cargo.
Secondary causes Secondary causes have also affected the capsizing of the ferry by decreasing the restoring force. The crew of the ferry stated that the lack of restoring force was a cause of the disaster. The Prosecution/Police Coalition Investigations Headquarters is currently investigating secondary causes which could have lessened the ship's restoring force.
Renovations adding extra passenger cabins have been proposed as a main secondary cause by Kim Gill-soo, a professor in the maritime transport technological department at the Korea Maritime University. This possible cause has also been supported by the captain, as well as the aforementioned Lee Sang-yun.
Obsolete theories
Explosion
Gong Gil-young, a professor of aviation engineering in the Korea Maritime University, has commented that the sudden turn was simply the 'first cause' and that there were secondary causes to the incident. He advocated an explosion as the most probable secondary cause.
Reef collision At the beginning of the investigation, the ROK Coast Guard thought that the cause was a collision with a reef, believing this likely because the area was foggy. The captain denied this was the cause of the accident, and a reef collision has been dismissed as a cause by consensus among experts. The theory is also not currently advocated by the Coast Guard.
Captain and crew On 19 April, the captain of the ferry was arrested on suspicion of negligence of duty, violation of maritime law and other infringements. The captain had abandoned the ship with passengers still aboard the ferry, while South Korean law explicitly requires captains to remain on the ship during a disaster. Two other crew members, a helmsman and the third mate, were also arrested on that day on suspicion of negligence and manslaughter. By 26 April, twelve further arrests had been made with the whole crew responsible for navigation in detention.
On 15 May, Captain Lee Jun-seok, First Mate Kang Won-sik (who was responsible for managing the ship's ballast), Second Mate Kim Young-ho, and Chief Engineer Park Gi-ho were indicted on charges of homicide through gross negligence (also described as murder), which carry a potential death penalty. The other eleven crew members face lesser charges of abandoning the ship and ship safety offences.
Three crew members, Park Ji-Young, Jeong Hyun-seon, and Kim Ki-woong, are credited by survivors with staying aboard the ferry to help passengers escape. All three went down with the sinking vessel.
Operators
On 8 May, the chief executive of Chonghaejin Marine, Kim Han-sik, was arrested and is facing charges including causing death by negligence. Four other company officials were also taken into custody.
The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries cancelled Chonghaejin Marine's license to operate ferries on the Incheon-Jeju Island route in May 2014.
Owners
Yoo Byung-eun, former chairman of Chonghaejin Marine, ignored Incheon District Prosecutors' Office summonses, and went into hiding. On 22 May, the Incheon District Court issued an arrest warrant and Korean authorities offered a ₩50 million (US$48,800) reward for information leading to the arrest of Yoo. On 25 May, the reward was raised tenfold to ₩500 million (US$488,000). On 21 July 2014, it was reported that a body found in a field in June was believed to be Yoo's.
Regulation
The disaster raised questions about the regulation of shipping in South Korea. Shipping is regulated by the Korean Shipping Association, which is also an industry trade group, which experts consider a likely conflict of interest. In addition, government regulators outside the Association frequently move to jobs as part of the association after their government service. Yun Jong-hwui, a professor at Korea Maritime and Ocean University notes that while South Korean regulations are strong, they are often poorly enforced.
On 3 June the Gwangju District Court issued arrest warrants for a senior vessel safety operator of the Korea Shipping Association's Incheon unit and a vessel inspector of the Korean Register of Shipping's Mokpo unit.
Reactions
Political
In addition to reaction against the actions of the captain and much of the crew of the Sewol ferry, there has been a much wider political reaction to the disaster. Criticism has ranged from anger at the lax regulatory environment which may have contributed to the safety violations that could have sunk the Sewol, to anger about the rescue operations, to anger at Park Geun-hye, the President of South Korea, whose approval ratings have fallen from a high of 71 percent before the disaster to "the 40 percent range" weeks afterwards.
Political reaction to the Sewol sinking has been intensified by a series of events. A prominent South Korean politician from the ruling Saenuri Party, Chung Mong-joon, was forced to apologize when his son wrote a controversial Facebook post criticizing the public for criticizing the government over the disaster. Many parents of the victims of the tragedy have been expressing deep anger at the government, ranging from reportedly berating Prime Minister Jung Hong-won to shouting at President Park Geun-hye, to parents staging protests at the presidential palace itself, partly inflamed by a reported remark by a senior news editor at the government-influenced Korean Broadcasting System that the number of dead in the ferry tragedy was "not many, compared with the number of people killed in traffic accidents each year".
Barack Obama, the President of the United States, sent his condolences, stated that the United States would help in the search for survivors and during a state visit to South Korea, presented a magnolia tree from the White House to the high school. Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe offered sympathy to the victims. Truong Tan Sang, the President of Vietnam, as well as the deputy prime minister and the minister of foreign affairs sent their condolences to Yun Byung-se, South Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs. Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong sent their condolences to the president of South Korea. Xi Jinping, the President of China, sent messages on condolences to Park.
On 27 April, Jung Hong-won, the prime minister of South Korea, accepted responsibility and announced his resignation.
On 29 April, South Korean president Park Geun-hye indirectly apologized for the government's response to ferry sinking.
On 30 April, North Korea sent its condolences.
On 18 May 2014, BBC reported that President Park Geun-hye announced South Korea "plans to break up its coastguard" after failing to respond well during the MV Sewol ferry disaster. According to Park, "investigation and information roles will be transferred to the Korean police while the rescue and salvage operation and ocean security roles will be transferred to the Department for National Safety which will be newly established".
Civilian
On 17 April, a representative of the Cheonghaejin Marine Company apologized for the incident. The chairman and CEO of Korean Register of Shipping, Chon Young-Kee, resigned on 28 April, following raids on KR offices by South Korean prosecutors.
On 18 April, the rescued vice principal of Danwon High School Kang Min-kyu, 52, committed suicide by hanging himself. Police stated that a note was found in his wallet. He had organized the field trip that had brought the high school party aboard the ship, and Kang had written in his two-page note that "Surviving alone is too painful when 200 lives are unaccounted for ... I take full responsibility." The note ended with a request that his body be cremated and the ashes scattered over the site of the accident, "that I might be a teacher in heaven to those kids whose bodies have not been found."
On 22 April, a netizen made a post encouraging others to take part in the 'KakaoTalk yellow ribbon wearing campaign.' The image accompanying the post had a caption stating, 'One small movement, big miracles'. Since then, the yellow ribbon has gained meaning to symbolize mourning. The ribbons are prominent in the social media, sometimes as profile photos. Celebrities such as Jo Kwon and Hye-rim Park had joined this movement.