Prosecutors Search Demise Sentence for Captain in Tragic Ship Accident
There’s an outdated idiom, “The captain goes down with the ship,” that refers back to the maritime custom {that a} sea captain is accountable for his or her ship and everybody, the passengers and crew, onboard.
Often, when a ship is in misery, the captain forgoes his personal security and evacuation of the ship and concentrates on saving everybody else on board. The outcomes have typically been the demise or a late rescue of the captain.
This was not the case onboard the MV Sewol.
At present’s weblog shouldn’t be a contented delivery information story. The beneath video exhibits footage of Captain Lee Joon-seok in his underwear scrambling to get off the ship with the assistance of rescuers. In the meantime, a whole bunch of passengers had been drowning.
The truth is, in accordance with survivors, passengers had been ordered to remain of their rooms. As a substitute of utilizing the life vests, rafts, and bulletins to evacuate the passengers, the captain and crew deserted them and the ship. The outcomes had been that almost 300 individuals died. Lots of the passengers had been highschool college students on a discipline journey.
The above footage enraged the individuals of South Korea because it was performed again and again on the information, making a public outcry for the demise sentence for use on the captain. We blogged about that again in June of this yr:
Captain Might Be Executed On Homicide Fees After Tragic Ship Sinking
Now it’s extra than simply public opinion calling for the demise sentence. Prosecutors requested the court docket to condemn Captain Lee Joon-seok to demise.
In line with CNN, “The closing assertion was held Monday, and the three judges are anticipated to difficulty a verdict and sentencing on November 11.”
Nobody has been executed in South Korea since 1997. There are some who suppose executing the captain on this case could be an enormous case of scapegoating.
HandyShippingGuide.com posted an article on this story which included a view in opposition to taking Captain Lee Joon-seok’s life:
Nautilus Normal Secretary Mark Dickinson stated he was deeply disturbed to listen to of the drastic sentences being sought by prosecutors saying:
“From the outset, there was a concerted drive to criminalise the captain and crew on this incident, and these excessive penalties take the observe of scapegoating seafarers to an unprecedented stage. It has grow to be clear because the tragic lack of the Sewol that, as with many different maritime disasters, the causes are advanced and it’s completely unjust to single out seafarers for such therapy.
“Points together with coaching, expertise, security administration, ship design and building, and the effectiveness of the regulatory regime are all vital elements on this catastrophe. It’s all-too straightforward for the South Korean authorities to pin the blame on the captain and crew, whereas ignoring deep-rooted underlying issues and the push to this sort of kneejerk justice does nobody any favours.
“This disturbing state of affairs is indicative of a regulatory course of that has little regard for honest therapy of seafarers and no need to actually perceive what occurred and thus be taught the required classes to enhance security. There’s a want for change now, there may be an ineffective accident investigation course of and an pressing want for a renewed push to enhance ferry security.”
There’s actually loads of blame to go round, as Mr. Dickinson says above. Overloading the boat with cargo, one thing the ferry firm allegedly tried to cowl up with falsified paperwork, might be added to Mr. Dickinson’s checklist.
Whereas modifications actually have to be made for improved ferry security in South Korea as Mr. Dickinson suggests, had been the actions of the captain and crew not felony?
Even when the captain and crew didn’t have the right coaching, wouldn’t widespread sense recommend evacuating? To as a substitute order passengers to remain of their rooms whereas the captain and crew bought out themselves appears to be knowingly saving themselves at the price of the lives of the passengers.
The query is, ought to these actions be punished with the demise penalty? What do you suppose?
