The Sewol is a ferry that was built by the Japanese company Hayashikane Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in 1994. In detail, the ship was at 146m (479ft) in length and 22m (72ft) in width, she could carry 921 passengers, or a total of 956, including the crew. She had a legal capacity for 180 vehicles and 154 regular cargo containers. The maximum speed of the ship was 22 knots (41 km/hour of 25 mph).
Between 1994 and 2012, the Sewol was owned by a Japanese company and was originally known as the Ferry Naminoue. The ship operated in Japan for almost 18 years without any accidents. In 2012, the ship was bought for $11.3 million by a Korean organization called the Cheonghaejin Marine Company and was refurbished multiple times. Modifications included adding extra passenger cabins on the third, fourth, and fifth decks, raising the passenger capacity by 117, and increasing the weight of the ship by 239 tons. After regulatory and safety checks by the Korean Marine Ministry, the ship began her operation in South Korea on March 15th, 2013. |
The ship made three round-trips every week from Incheon to Jeju. A yellow path at the very left of the Korean peninsula marks the path from Incheon to Jeju. Incheon is one of South Korea's largest harbor cities, and Jeju is an island located at the bottom of the map which is a famous tourist site and often visited by tourists from all over Asia. By far, the sea route from Incheon to Jeju is the longest within the Korean peninsula. |