Korean maritime safety tribunal showed that passenger ship captain have to be responsible for collision, a license stop of 2 months which is suspended for 6 months including a working education of 21 hours on a ship collision accident between a passen...
Korean maritime safety tribunal showed that passenger ship captain have to be responsible for collision, a license stop of 2 months which is suspended for 6 months including a working education of 21 hours on a ship collision accident between a passenger ship and a fishing boat. This decision was due to two reasons, one is the accident seaway was not a narrow waterway and the other is a violation of both practice of seamen and the duty of vigilance.
This study is the interpretation study on the application scope of special navigation at the narrow seaway in terms of above Korean maritime safety tribunal decision. The study conclusions are as follows: First, the accident seaway is narrow waterway. This assertion could be made from the 4 facts, width of movable waterway (from 0.5 mile to 0.6 mile), too short waterway compared to passenger ship length’s 16x, no special thing of marine weather condition at accident waterway, supreme court cases and maritime safety tribunal cases. Also, this assertion could come here from legal stability and the need for consistent interpretation for predictability.
Second, application navigation and causation of accident waterway are as follows: Application navigation of accident waterway must be special navigation at narrow waterway firstly. In terms of the special navigation, fishing boat violated both right navigation duty and obligation of non-obstruction of navigation. In the process of this violations, fishing boat did not do anything to avoid a ship collision (e. g, change of course or the sound of siren) as small boat.
Crossing navigation violation of passenger ship was in the process of left changing state to stop. Therefore, the violation of crossing navigation might not be because there was not crossing intention over fishing boat.
Next, crossing navigation and practice of seamen might be applicable secondly, but these principles don’t apply to this case due to no special circumstances.
Lastly, causation judgment must be made after a prior causation judgment. And the last causation judgment have to be legal causation decision. In relation with above accident case, final causation judgment are as follows: First: violation of right navigation duty at narrow waterway without alert on the part of a fishing boat (100%) → Second: breach of obligation of non-obstruction of navigation as small ship, a ship less than 20 meters length on the part of a fishing boat (100%) → Third: violation of crossing prohibition obligation at narrow waterway on the part of a passenger ship (60%). Finally, I think that the judgment of Korean maritime safety tribunal has a few problems.