Anger and suspicion fuels questions over GOLDEN ROSE loss
South Korean newspapers demand answers to loss of GOLDEN ROSE

Anger and disbelief are being expressed in South Korean newspapers following what is being billed as 'a hit and run' by a Chinese container ship which resulted in the loss of a Korean cargo vessel, the Golden Rose on Saturday.

Whilst Chinese authorities exhort their departments and rescue services to do everything in their power to find the missing sixteen sailors, a growing sense of unease and suspicion about the incident points the finger at the Chinese ship, and both the Chinese and South Korean authorities.

South Korean newspaper Chosun Ilbo in an editorial asks "Exactly What Happened When the Golden Rose Sank?"

In a list of unanswered questions the first, says the paper, is why the Chinese vessel did not stay and attempt to rescue the sailors on the sinking Golden Rose? Elsewhere the newspaper reports that in the Chinese newspaper Qingdao Zaobao one of the crew on the JIN SHENG is reported to have said he felt the ship shudder but did not think they had collided with anything.

Another Korean paper, the JoongAng Daily, says the Chinese ship deliberately fled the scene and accused them of going against all standard maritime practice and human instincts. They said if the Chinese ship had done its duty, the 16 missing "might be back in their homes right now."

Questions too are being asked about the co-operation, or lack of it, between Chinese and South Korean authorities, with delays in reporting and, in the case of South Korea, a fax being sent that was not picked up for three hours.

"The Korean government was not prompt." said the editorial in the JoongAng Daily, "The Korea Coast Guard sent a one page report via fax after six hours. Then, the fax was not noticed for another three hours."

But the newspaper Donga Ilbo reports that the Korean Embasy is pointing the finger at Chinese authorities. Quoting an un-named Embassy officical: " The Korean government was first informed of the accident by a Korean vessel company through the Korean maritime police, not by the Chinese government. And it was the Korean government who asked the Chinese government to confirm the accident. That is against international practice.”

Donga Ilbo also reports the sleeping sailor's story in Dalian. It quotes an un-named China daily newspaper as reporting,

Lee, who was in the cabin at the time of collision, said, “Around 3:00 a.m. (China time) on May 12, the ship was suddenly shaken and seemed to slow down. But it picked up speed again and just went on,” adding, “I didn’t think that our ship hit something, and didn’t know there was a collision until arriving in Dalian.”

He also said, “We heard there was a collision off Yantai after mechanics found damage to the head of the ship in Dalian. Our captain then immediately informed the maritime rescue center of the location of collision.” He added, “The sailor who was on the deck at the time of collision said, ‘The fog was so thick that I couldn’t see 150 meters ahead. Maybe the fog should be blamed for the collision.’”

Donga Ilbo says the newspaper said that this indicated they knew precisely the location of the vessel's position at the time of the collision.