What Crew Members Say About Bum-Kang

In a heart-wrenching incident on September 22, 2017, a gas explosion occurred aboard the Bum Kang, a tanker vessel navigating off the coast of Samcheok in Gangwon Province. The explosion erupted at 1 a.m. while the ship was sailing without cargo and had 11 crew members on board. Unfortunately, the blast resulted in the death of an Indonesian crew member and left a Korean crew member with serious injuries. Following the explosion, which produced substantial smoke but no fire, the wounded vessel altered its course toward the nearest port and successfully arrived at 2:25 a.m. under its own power. Preliminary investigations suggest that the explosion was triggered during the degassing of the cargo tanks, indicating the potential dangers associated with the handling of volatile gases at sea.