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| Pilot Steering Ferry Had No Experience in Treacherous Waterway | Pilot Steering Ferry Had No Experience in Treacherous Waterway |
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| JINDO, South Korea — A 26-year-old third mate was steering a South Korean ferry through a notoriously treacherous waterway for the first time when it tilted and sank, prosecutors said on Saturday, as rescuers raced to find anyone alive among the 270 missing passengers. | JINDO, South Korea — A 26-year-old third mate was steering a South Korean ferry through a notoriously treacherous waterway for the first time when it tilted and sank, prosecutors said on Saturday, as rescuers raced to find anyone alive among the 270 missing passengers. |
| At a kilometer-long and 4.5 kilometers wide, the Maenggol Waterway has long provided a shortcut for ships trying to save fuel and time navigating the waters off the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, which are dotted with islands. But the Maenggol has a reputation for the fastest and most unpredictable currents around the peninsula. | At a kilometer-long and 4.5 kilometers wide, the Maenggol Waterway has long provided a shortcut for ships trying to save fuel and time navigating the waters off the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula, which are dotted with islands. But the Maenggol has a reputation for the fastest and most unpredictable currents around the peninsula. |
| “It was her first time steering the ship through the Maenggol Waterway,” said Yang Joong-jin, a senior prosecutor who is taking part in the government’s investigation of the ferry sinking. “There is nothing legally wrong with that. But it does give us important data on how well qualified” was the third mate, Park Han-gyeol. | “It was her first time steering the ship through the Maenggol Waterway,” said Yang Joong-jin, a senior prosecutor who is taking part in the government’s investigation of the ferry sinking. “There is nothing legally wrong with that. But it does give us important data on how well qualified” was the third mate, Park Han-gyeol. |
| The ship’s captain, Lee Jun-seok, 69, was in his room and had left the third mate in charge of the ship when the episode began 11 miles from the island of Jindo. |