Due to Coast Guard negligence, a 17 billion won ship was flooded and dismantled... “Discipline is serious”

(Incheon = Yonhap News) Reporter Kang Jong-gu = Many of the accidents involving Coast Guard patrol vessels were found to be due to poor basic safety management, and it was pointed out that the Coast Guard's laxity in discipline is serious.

According to the National Assembly audit data submitted by the People Power Party Rep. Kim Seon-kyo (Yeoju-si, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do) from the Coast Guard on the 18th, there were 14 Coast Guard patrol vessel accidents that occurred over the five years from 2021 to September of this year.

In particular, there was a case where a patrol vessel built at a cost of 17 billion won was dismantled after a flooding accident due to the Coast Guard's negligence.

The flooding accident of the Incheon Coast Guard's 300-ton patrol vessel that occurred on March 25 occurred when the Coast Guard entrusted maintenance to an external repair company and left for lunch.

Due to a management vacuum, the exhaust pipe was open, and as the hull sank due to oil shortages, the exhaust pipe was submerged below the surface of the water, and seawater flowed into the engine room.

Ultimately, it was determined that this patrol ship was scrapped as the restoration cost exceeded the economic repair limit.

In addition, a new 3,000-ton ship belonging to the Central Coast Guard's West Sea 5th Special Guard Group collided with the breakwater while entering Incheon Port on March 20, three months after it was completed at a cost of 85 billion won.

The Coast Guard acknowledged that errors in on-site judgment as well as strong currents and winds were the causes of the accident.

As such, accidents are occurring one after another due to the Coast Guard's insensitivity to safety, such as poor navigation and negligence in vigilance, but measures to hold them accountable appear to be insufficient.

According to the status of punishment for each accident submitted by the Coast Guard, 22 out of 32 people were subject to punishment other than disciplinary measures such as warnings, cautions, and unwritten warnings, and only one person was suspended.

Rep. Kim Seon-kyo said, "The fact that the latest ship worth 85 billion won crashed into the breakwater and the ship worth 17 billion won was abandoned due to flooding is an example that goes beyond individual mistakes and shows the lax discipline of the organization as a whole," and emphasized, "The Coast Guard must thoroughly investigate the causes of repeated human errors and the command and supervision system and establish organizational discipline right away."