A tanker navigation officer who fled after ramming and capsizing a fishing boat off Gunsan, North Jeolla, was sentenced to prison.
On the 20th, according to legal sources, the Criminal Division 1 of the Busan District Court's Western Branch (Presiding Judge Kim Ju-gwan) sentenced second mate A to six years in prison and captain B to one year and six months in prison, suspended for three years, on charges including violating the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes (hit-and-run in a marine traffic accident).
A was brought to trial on charges of fleeing without reporting after, around 7 a.m. on Sept. 16, 2024, while on duty as the officer of the watch operating a tanker in waters near Gunsan, North Jeolla, ramming a fishing boat.
In the accident, three people, including the captain and the chief engineer aboard the capsized fishing vessel 77 Daeryeongho (35-ton class), died and one was injured.
The court said, "As a navigation officer, the defendant operated the vessel while neglecting the duty of care and struck and capsized the fishing boat," adding, "Despite being fully able to recognize that the ship collision the defendant caused could pose a fatal risk to the lives of the crew aboard the fishing boat, the defendant irresponsibly and complacently left the scene and fled."
It added, "Although A acknowledges the offense in this case, considering the attitude in court and the fact that for about 16 months after the incident there was no effort to make restitution to the victims or bereaved families, it is doubtful whether A is genuinely reflecting on the wrongdoing."