Fishing Boat and Merchant Ship Collide Off Gageodo, Sinan; No Casualties Reported

Collision Between Coastal Trap Fishing Vessel and Cargo Ship
Coast Guard Mobilizes to Prevent Asphalt Tar Spill

A collision occurred between a fishing boat and a merchant vessel 87 km northwest off the coast of Gageodo, Shinan-gun, Jeollanam-do.

The Mokpo Coast Guard (Chief Kwon Oseong) announced on the 31st that they received a report at around 3:17 p.m. on the 30th that fishing vessel A (80 tons, registered in Buan, coastal trap type) and cargo ship B (3,378 tons, registered in Singapore, oil product carrier) had collided, and immediately dispatched rescue forces to the scene.

It was reported that there were 12 people on board fishing vessel A at the time, and three of them suffered contusions, with one suspected of a lumbar fracture who will be transported to land.

Vessel A was found to have about 50 cm of damage to both the bow and stern, but there were no safety issues. However, in the case of the collided cargo ship B, there were no human injuries, but flooding was confirmed due to a hull breach on the starboard bow. It was found that about 3,000 tons of asphalt tar were loaded on B at the time of the accident. The West Sea Special Rescue Team was immediately dispatched to the site to secure hull safety and prevent marine pollution.

The Mokpo Coast Guard plans to continue rescue operations and accident response, while analyzing the routes and collision marks of the vessels involved to determine the exact cause of the accident.