Was the Accident Foreseeable Three Minutes Before, but Detected Only One Minute Ahead?... Are There Limits to VTS?

The passenger ship Queen Zenobia 2, which ran aground off the coast of Sinan, Jeonnam 20 days ago, is docked at Samhak Pier in Sanjeong-dong, Mokpo City, Jeonnam. Photo by Seung-Hyun Jeong

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It has been revealed that the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) failed to detect when the large car ferry Queen Zenobia 2, carrying 267 people, deviated from its route and ran aground after heading straight toward an uninhabited island. The passenger ship was supposed to change course 1,600 meters before the grounding point, but due to limitations in the VTS system, the deviation was only detected when the vessel was 700 to 800 meters away. There are growing calls to address these issues by revising routes in sections where it is difficult to detect course changes and by strengthening cooperation among related agencies to compensate for the technical limitations of the VTS.

According to the Mokpo Coast Guard on November 20, Queen Zenobia 2 was supposed to change direction 1,600 meters away from Jokdo, an uninhabited island in Sinan County, where the vessel eventually ran aground.

However, this time, the ship failed to change course at the designated point, deviated from its route, and continued sailing until it collided head-on with Jokdo and became stranded.

Mokpo VTS, responsible for the safety of maritime traffic, did not notice that the passenger ship carrying hundreds of people had deviated from its route.

The fact that the ferry had run aground was also not known until the chief mate reported the incident, prompting subsequent action.

The Coast Guard investigation team believes it took about two to three minutes for the vessel to run aground after deviating from its normal route, considering Queen Zenobia 2's speed at the time (40 to 45 km/h).

At the time of the incident, a single controller was in charge of the accident area and was monitoring a total of five vessels. Mokpo VTS explained that this controller was focusing on another vessel that had deviated from its route in the same narrow channel.

The Coast Guard stated that the point at which controllers can reliably detect a vessel's course change is about 700 to 800 meters from Jokdo, or roughly one minute away.

The investigation team clarified that the three-minute distance to the deviation point was based on crew statements and may differ from the actual situation.

Ultimately, even with focused monitoring, anomalies can only be detected within 700 to 800 meters, and at that distance, the ferry would collide with Jokdo in less than a minute, rendering traffic control ineffective.

Regarding this, a Coast Guard official said, "With current technology, the only way to immediately know when a vessel changes course is to maintain direct and continuous communication," adding, "For sections where it is difficult to detect course changes, it is necessary to reconsider route settings."

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