JUNG WOO No.2 - Ross Sea Casualty

[Chris Howell]

The third ex Japanese longliner to become a casualty in last two years.

Sparta hit an iceberg a few weeks ago and Jung Woo No.2 is latest.


http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=1471859

Fire on Korean fishing boat in Southern Ocean

08:39 11/01/2012
LATEST: Three sailors are missing and three injured in a fire drama on a Korean fishing boat in the Southern Ocean.
The Jung Woo 2, carrying 40 crew, has issued a mayday call from deep in the Southern Ocean, saying there is a fire aboard.
Three sailors from the are missing and three injured, and the ship had only one viable lifeboat, the Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) said.
The 51 metre ship was in the Ross Sea, about 2000 nautical miles (3704 kilometres) south east of New Zealand and about 600 kilometres north of McMurdo Station.
Jung Woo 2 issued a distress call, which was picked up by another Korean fishing vessel, Hong Jin 707, and relayed to RCCNZ by the NZ vessel Antarctic Chieftain just before 3am.
RCCNZ search and rescue mission coordinator Dave Wilson said the fire had been reported as "out of control".
Of the crew, 25 were believed to be in a lifeboat and 12 remained onboard. The three injured men were among those still on board.
Wilson said five vessels were responding to the distress call, including the sister ship Jung Woo 3, which was about 35 minutes away.
Wilson said a US research vessel with hospital facilities was about 12 hours away from the Jung Woo 2's reported position, with two other vessels around 10 hours away.
Contact was also being made with the Italian and Australian Antarctic bases to investigate whether it is possible to use an aircraft to lift any injured from the Italian base at Terra Nova Bay to McMurdo Base.
The weather in the area currently is clear, with light winds, although a low is expected tomorrow.
The Jung Woo 2 was built in 1985 by Kanasashi Heavy Industries in Shizuoka, Japan, and originally named the Koryo Maru 32.
It is a 51m longliner which fishes for Patagonian Toothfish, rays and crabs in the Antarctic Ocean. It has a gross registered tonnage of 489 and can carry up to 2.749 tonnes of catch.
The ship is owned by the Sunwoo Corporation of Korea.
The mayday call is the second from a ship fishing near Antarctica in a month. Last month the 48-metre vessel Sparta, with a crew of 32 aboard, ran into trouble after hitting ice in the Ross Sea.
The ship was stuck there for 12 days while repairs were made. It received help from another fishing boat and a Royal New Zealand Air Force plane dropped supplies and a pump. The Sparta returned to Nelson yesterday.
On December 13 2010, the No 1 Insung, a 31-year-old Korean toothfish longliner with Vietnamese crew operating out of Bluff, sank in the same area with the loss of 22 men.
In February last year a Norway-flagged yacht, Berserk, sank north of Scott Base, forcing HMNZS Wellington, an off-shore patrol boat, into a lengthy and dangerous search. Three men died in that sinking.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/6239153/Fire-on-Korean-fishing-boat-in-Southern-Ocean

[Chris Howell]

Further info
Burnt crew plucked from ship
 
09:58 11/01/2012
LATEST: Three fishermen with burns have been lifted from a stricken fishing boat by a crane, but more are missing.
The Welllington-based Rescue Co-ordination Centre (RCCNZ) is co-ordinating efforts to reach the striken Korean ship, the Jeong Woo 2, in the Southern Ocean after a fire on board
Two Korean fishing vessels (Jeong Woo 3 and Hong Jin 707) are alongside and have evacuated crew from the ship.
Of the 40 crew known to be on board, at least three have burns and were evacuated by crane, a RCCNZ spokesman said.
Three more are believed to be missing. The crew is being medically assessed and the rescuing ships plan to transfer injured seamen to the US research vessel Nathaniel B. Palmer, which is steaming north to meet them.
The Nathaniel B. Palmer has suitable medical facilities on board and will sail to McMurdo Base to put the injured seamen ashore.
The Jung Woo 2, carrying 40 crew, issued a mayday call this morning from deep in the Southern Ocean, saying there was a fire aboard.
Jung Woo 2 issued a distress call, which was picked up by another Korean fishing vessel, Hong Jin 707, and relayed to RCCNZ by the NZ vessel Antarctic Chieftain just before 3am.
The ship has only one viable lifeboat, the Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand (RCCNZ) said.
The 51m ship was in the Ross Sea, about 3704km south-east of New Zealand and about 600km north of McMurdo Station.
Wilson said a US research vessel with hospital facilities was about 12 hours away from the Jung Woo 2's reported position, with two other vessels around 10 hours away.
The weather in the area is clear, with light winds, although a low is expected tomorrow.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/6239391/Desperate-mayday-call-from-ship



Photos of Hong Jin 707

http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/search.php?query=HONG+JIN+NO.+707&x=7&y=11

[Chris Howell]

Fatal fire on Korean ship still burning
Last updated 05:00 12/01/2012
 
A United States research ship was last night expected to reach a Korean fishing boat that erupted in flames, killing three crew members and badly burning two others.
A further five crew suffered less-severe burns when the Jeong Woo 2 caught fire overnight on Tuesday about 2000 nautical miles (3700km) southeast of New Zealand and about 600km north of McMurdo Station, Rescue Co-ordination Centre New Zealand said.
Two other Korean fishing ships, sister ship Jeong Woo 3 and Hong Jin 707, evacuated the stricken ship's crew yesterday morning but three missing crew members were thought to have died in its accommodation block, where the fire started.
A RCCNZ spokeswoman said the United States research ship Nathaniel B Palmer was expected to reach the scene last night, and had medical facilities on board to assess and treat the men.
It would decide if it needed to head to McMurdo to put the injured seamen ashore for further treatment and possible evacuation to Christchurch, she said.
Yesterday evening, the 51- metre ship was still on fire but was still afloat. A third rescue ship, the Argos Georgia, had also arrived at the scene.
However, it was unclear how the remaining uninjured crew would be repatriated home, which was up to the ship's owners and their home countries to arrange.
The Foreign Affairs and Trade Ministry would help liaise with the relevant embassies, the spokeswoman said. The ship's 40 crew members were from Korea, Vietnam, Russia and Indonesia.
Just before Christmas, Russian fishing boat Sparta became stranded next to the Antarctic ice shelf in the Ross Sea after holing its hull when it hit submerged ice.
It was stuck there for 12 days while repairs were made, helped by another fishing boat and the New Zealand air force, which dropped supplies and a pump. The Sparta arrived at Port Nelson on Tuesday.
In December 2010, South Korean toothfish longliner No 1 Insung 22 sank in the Ross Sea, killing 22 of its Vietnamese crew.
Green Party Oceans spokesman Gareth Hughes said yesterday the latest incident should serve as a "wake-up call" for the Government to close off the Ross Sea as a marine protected area.
"This pristine environment must not be put at risk by old, single-hulled unsuitable fishing boats like these that race to catch as much as they can despite the weather in the `Olympic' style fishery," he said.
The Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources managed Antarctic fisheries after an international treaty was agreed by New Zealand and 24 other countries. It came into force in 1982. 
For the year starting last December, 29 ships from nine countries were licensed to catch Patagonian or Antarctic toothfish in waters covered by the convention, including seven New Zealand boats. All three stricken ships were licensed to harvest toothfish.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/6243440/Fatal-fire-on-Korean-ship-still-burning