Two Captains Arrested Over South Korea’s Largest Oil Spill

Seoul, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) – The Coast Guard said Monday it arrested the captains of a crane-carrying barge and a tugboat on suspicion of negligence and violation of anti-marine pollution laws over a massive oil spill off the west coast of South Korea earlier this month.

About 12,547 kiloliters or 1,900 metric tons of crude oil spilled after the barge that came unmoored from its tugboats punched holes in the Hong Kong-registered tanker Hebei Spirit amid strong winds in waters off Taean, South Chungcheong Province, on Dec. 7.

The accident is believed to be the largest offshore oil spill to ever take place in South Korea, officials said. The captains are being detained at the Taean Maritime Police Station.

Earlier in the day, Lee Sang-woo, a justice at the Seosan branch of Daejeon District Court, issued warrants for the arrests of the two captains "as the accident is such a grave concern and the two are expected to face a severe punishment at a trial."

The captain of the 11,800-ton barge, only identified by his family name Kim, is suspected of having ordered his crew to sail despite rough seas, which would mean direct responsibility for the spill, Coast Guard officials said earlier. The barge is owned by Samsung Heavy Industries Co.

Kim and the captain of one of the two tugboats, only identified by his last name Cho, decided to head to safety two hours before the crash, but it was too late because of winds as strong as 14 meters per second. The towline between one of the tugs and the barge was severed 14 minutes before the barge crashed into the tanker, they said.