AIS data shows container ship moved to outer waters before breakdown, prompting tug dispatch

The coast guard conducts rescue operations after a tugboat capsized off Busan on Wednesday afternoon. The overturned vessel is visible at the scene as a passing cargo ship assists in the rescue effort. [Busan Maritime Police Station/Yonhap]
The coast guard conducts rescue operations after a tugboat capsized off Busan on Wednesday afternoon. The overturned vessel is visible at the scene as a passing cargo ship assists in the rescue effort. [Busan Maritime Police Station/Yonhap]

A tugboat that capsized in waters southeast of Oryukdo Island off Busan was attempting to tow a 60,000-ton-class container ship that had lost steering when the accident occurred, authorities said.

According to the Busan Coast Guard and vessel tracking data from the Automatic Identification System, the 286-ton tugboat had been dispatched to tow a Liberia-flagged container ship with a gross tonnage of 66,332 tons, measuring about 279 meters in length and 40 meters in width.

The vessel can carry up to approximately 5,500 twenty-foot equivalent units.

AIS data on the maritime tracking site MarineTraffic showed the container ship's navigation status as "Not Under Command" on the day of the accident.

Industry officials say a vessel designated "not under command" is one that, due to a mechanical failure or other condition limiting its maneuverability, cannot give way to other ships.

The container ship's AIS track before the accident is also notable.

The vessel departed Busan New Port on Tuesday and moved south through waters off Busan before heading east into the outer sea. It was near Busan New Port at around 7 p.m. Tuesday, passed through waters south of Busan at around 11 p.m. the same day, and reached the outer sea east of Busan by around 3:50 a.m. Wednesday.

The ship then reversed course and headed back toward Busan. By around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday it was moving northward along waters south of the accident site, and by around 1:28 p.m. it had reached waters southeast of Oryukdo Island.

That position closely matches the accident site the Busan Coast Guard identified as approximately 9 kilometers southeast of Oryukdo Island.

The coast guard is searching for the remaining six crew members while investigating the navigational circumstances of both vessels at the time of the accident and the precise sequence of events.


mokiya@heraldcorp.com