On the 15th, a Hangang Bus got stuck on the riverbed and came to a halt while passing through a shallow area near the Jamsil dock in Songpa District, Seoul. It has now been found that on the same day, there was a similar type of report near the Ttukseom dock. Since February, there have been a total of 15 such cases to date.
On the morning of the 17th at Seoul City Hall, Hangang Bus CEO Kim Seon-jik said at a briefing on the Hangang Bus stoppage incident, "On the day of the Jamsil incident, there was also a report near the Ttukseom dock that a Hangang Bus had come into contact with an unidentified object on the (Hangang) riverbed."
The report of contact with the riverbed near the Ttukseom dock occurred about seven hours before the stoppage incident at the Jamsil dock. The Jamsil dock Hangang Bus stoppage occurred at about 8:25 p.m. on the 15th when a Hangang Bus docking at the pier got caught on the bottom. Earlier that day, at about 12:43 p.m., a report was filed that a Hangang Bus operating near the Ttukseom dock had come into contact with an unidentified object on the riverbed.
Seoul city says the two matters are separate. In the Jamsil dock case, a vessel entering the dock failed to properly see the marker lights at night, deviated from the route, and came to a stop, while in the Ttukseom dock case, the vessel was operating when the incident occurred.
Still, there is criticism that preparations before starting Hangang Bus service were inadequate. Considering the shallow sections, the route should have been set to keep the bus from touching the bottom, and the pier sites should have taken this into account.
Seoul city has said that for shallow sections, including the Jamsil dock where this Hangang Bus stoppage occurred, dredging work secured an extra depth of about 1 meter. Taking into account a draft of 1.3 meters and a 0.5-meter skeg under the hull, for a total of 1.8 meters, the city said it secured a total depth of at least 2.8 meters.
Even so, cases of vessels getting caught on the bottom continued to be reported. According to the Hangang Bus operator, there have been a total of 15 reports of bottom snagging since February. Thirteen reports were filed this month alone, when service resumed after trial runs without passengers due to various issues. In addition, near the Jamsil dock, hazardous structures, such as gas pipeline protective works, had been buried, posing a risk in the event of a collision.
CEO Kim Seon-jik said, "We knew the water was shallow upstream of Hannam Bridge," but added, "We did not anticipate the water level would drop this low in the current dry season, when water depth is at its lowest throughout the year." The dry season, when rainfall is low and river flow is at its minimum, typically lasts from winter to spring.
The Hangang Bus side said it plans to resume service as soon as possible by conducting an underwater survey using a diving vessel along the Hangang Bus route, checking sediment conditions in shallow sections, and removing floating debris and foreign objects that hinder navigation.
Due to the aftermath of the Jamsil dock incident, Hangang Bus will not operate on the Apgujeong–Oksu–Ttukseom–Jamsil sections until inspection and measures for the route upstream of Hannam Bridge are completed. A resumption date has not yet been set. For the time being, it will partially operate only on the section from Magok to Mangwon to Yeouido on the south side of Hannam Bridge.