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Originally Posted by Noah930
Slightly moot point, as the damage has been done, but did the ship run into trouble because of a breach in the hull? Or because of a shift in its cargo load?
When the boat turned turtle, was there any gash in the hull? I haven't seen any pics to confirm this.
It was a ferry, carrying something like 150 vehicles. Would a ferry ever turn quickly enough to unsettle those vehicles (like that cargo jet flying out of Baghram) causing the ship to list enough to start taking on water?
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My understanding is the cargo, including cars, may have not been properly secured. Secondly, it was demonstrated that a broad, flat area like the deck for the cars, can take as little as 1" of water covering the surface to cause stability of the entire ship to come into question. Most likely scenario goes, ship is in the fog and off course when a sharp turn is made to bring ship back into correct location which causes the cargo to shift. Ship begins to list, water enters the auto deck causing further instability as captain and crew try to stabilize it. Water continues to pour in and ship capsizes. I have heard no report of damage to the hull. The loud bang that was reported could very well be the shifting cargo hitting the steel sides of the ship.
My thoughts include the broadcast to the passengers to remain in their places was an attempt to get the ship under control/stability and hundreds of moving passengers would make that difficult. I also think the crew was never properly drilled on evacuations given only one life boat was launched, there was, apparently, no pre-cruise instruction to passengers, and there was never an order to abandon ship. Add to this the Korean cultural element of always obeying authority, be it an elder or government official, and you have the makings of a terrible, terrible tragedy.