Sewol disaster could have happened any time
The "Sewol" was only by luck prevented from capsizing earlier, a prosecution expert told a court on Sep 16. Huh Yong-Bum, head of a team of experts on a joint prosecution-police team investigating the sinking of the erry, was testifying at the ongoing murder trial of the vessel's captain and crew.
It was just sheer luck that the Sewol operated as it did for more than a year. Investigations have shown that the "Sewol" was overloaded with cargo at the time of the disaster and not carrying enough ballast to balance the vessel correctly. A redesign in 2012 had already left the ferry top heavy.
The use of the ship's rudder was extremely constrained, as the unstable vessel was unable to sharply change direction. The captain told the crew not to move the rudder by more than five degrees. The captain has insisted that the ferry owners are the real culprits and that it was their decision to habitually overload the vessel.
Capt. Cahit Istikbal, author of SeaNews Turkey, estimated these mishaps at his article just after the accident: