BUSAN — A search of the hull of the TNS Catcher, a tugboat that capsized and sank off Busan, is set to begin as crews move to locate five people still missing.
A barge that will support the search left Cheonghak Pier in Busan's Yeongdo District on the morning of Sept. 23 and headed for the site of the sinking, according to shipping industry officials.
The barge will be anchored in place above the wreck and serve as an offshore base for the underwater search. Once it arrives, crews plan to drop anchor to hold its position and then send down a commercial remotely operated vehicle, or ROV, to survey the condition of the hull and the seabed terrain.
Information gathered in that preliminary ROV survey will determine how commercial divers carry out the detailed underwater search. Preparing the ROV and completing the preliminary survey is expected to take about a week.
The shipping company had originally planned to position the barge in mid-September, but insurance procedures and bad weather pushed the schedule back.
The TNS Catcher now lies about 5 kilometers southeast of Songjeong Port, where the water is 87 meters deep — beyond the 60-meter limit at which the Korea Coast Guard can normally conduct searches. Because of that depth, authorities have been working to bring in specialist commercial divers able to operate at deeper levels.
The tugboat capsized abruptly on Sept. 2 while towing about 9 kilometers east of Busan's Oryukdo islets. One of the eight people aboard was rescued and two died. Five remain missing.
Given that tension on the towline and other factors caused the vessel to list sharply and roll over, there is a strong possibility that some of the missing are still inside the hull, making this underwater search a turning point in the effort to find them.
