Six Firms Raided as Korea Probes Deadly Tug Capsize in Busan
Busan Coast Guard seizes documents from six companies and a shipping association after tug TNS Catcher sank.
South Korea’s Busan Coast Guard has raided the offices of six shipping companies and a maritime association as part of its investigation into the capsizing of the tug TNS Catcher, which left six crew members missing and one dead.
The 444-gross-ton tug, built in 2007 and measuring 34 metres (110 feet), capsized on September 2 while assisting the containership MSC Ikaria VI at the Port of Busan. The vessel, which had a crew of eight, remained afloat for several hours before sinking approximately 5.5 miles from the port. The South Korean Navy later located the wreck at a depth of 87 metres (285 feet).
Search for Missing Crew Intensifies as Investigation Expands: Busan
The Coast Guard has deployed 41 investigators to review position data, AIS records, voice data recorders, and CCTV footage of the incident. A search operation covering a 19-mile-wide area is underway, with 15 vessels and seven aircraft involved, alongside personnel from 48 Coast Guard stations in Busan and Ulsan.
Of the eight crew members aboard the TNS Catcher, one, a cook, survived after climbing onto the tug’s hull following the capsizing. The body of a second crew member was recovered and pronounced dead at a local hospital. The remaining six remain missing, with rescue teams using thermal observation devices and ROVs to search the wreck site.
Videos of the incident show the tug making a turn while assisting the 67,164-dwt containership MSC Ikaria VI, which has a capacity of 5,576 TEU. Investigators are examining the tug’s speed, the rate of its turn, and the force exerted by the towline as potential factors in the capsizing.
Coast Guard Targets Multiple Firms in Document Seizure
The Busan Coast Guard conducted a “search and seizure” at the offices of six companies and a shipping association, though it has not disclosed what information it is seeking or how the firms are connected to the incident. The MSC Ikaria VI, registered in Liberia, remains docked at the Port of Busan while the investigation continues.
The search for the missing crew members is ongoing, with authorities prioritising the recovery of the wreck and the retrieval of any evidence that could clarify the circumstances of the capsizing.
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