Sewol Ferry Raised

[Anchor Lead]

It has been nearly three years since the Sewol ferry sank, taking with it more than 300 passengers. After multiple stalled attempts to lift the doomed ship, the ferry finally breached the surface in the early hours of Thursday morning. Let’s take a look.

[Pkg]

The lifting process of the Sewol ferry that began on Wednesday evening has been proceeding as planned so far. A part of the sunken ferry became visible to the naked eye at around 3:45 a.m. Thursday. It marked the first appearance of the ferry since the tragedy occurred three years ago. At 9 a.m. the ferry was lifted about 2.4 meters above the water and attached to a barge. It is now being lifted 13 meters above the sea surface so that it can be attached to a jacking barge and loaded onto a semi-submersible ship. On Wednesday, when the ferry was test-lifted about one meter from the ocean floor, some expressed concerns because the ferry was presumed to be tilted. However, after the lifting process began in earnest, it has been proceeding smoothly. Now that the Sewol ferry has been lifted from the ocean, the investigation into the cause of the tragedy will likely gain speed. The legal grounds for investigating the sunken ferry already exist. A committee for investigating the exact cause of the tragedy is to be set up soon, as a special bill on its formation and operation already took effect on March 21. The committee will comprise eight members -- five selected by the National Assembly and three recommended by the bereaved families of the Sewol ferry tragedy. Once the committee is set up, it will function for a period of six months. Its operation can be extended once to a maximum overall period of ten months. But the investigation process may hit snags, as the bereaved families of the missing victims are opposed to measures such as cutting into the ship.