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2014-04-16 · Meaneljedo, off Jindo Island, South Korea · Ro-ro passenger ferry · South Korea flag
The Korean domestic ferry Sewol sank in calm weather on 16 April 2014 en route from Incheon to Jeju. Overloaded by 2.4× her cargo limit with un-lashed vehicles and containers, and modified with additional passenger cabins that raised her centre of gravity above design, she took a hard turn at 08:49 and rapidly heeled to starboard. Captain Lee Joon-seok and most senior crew abandoned first, while broadcasting an announcement telling passengers — mostly high-school students on a class trip — to remain in their cabins. Over 300 died, most trapped below decks as the ferry rolled and sank over the next 2 hours. The captain was convicted of homicide (later reduced) and 4 crew members of gross negligence. The Korean Coast Guard's failed rescue effort — arriving with the wrong equipment and hesitating to deploy divers — collapsed public trust in the Park Geun-hye government and contributed to her impeachment in 2017.
Sewol is the modern reference case for the interaction between commercial overloading, structural modification without stability recalculation, and abandonment order authority. Every domestic ferry operator now runs pre-departure ballast + cargo audits under Korean Coast Guard supervision. Internationally, Sewol reshaped the master's abandonment doctrine: the captain's absolute duty is the SOLAS 'last-to-leave' obligation, and 'passengers remain in cabins' announcements without simultaneous crew-led mustering are now criminally prosecutable in most jurisdictions.
Complete restructuring of the Korean Coast Guard (dissolved and reconstituted 2014-2017) and the Korean Ship Safety Technology Authority. Direct trigger for Korea's ratification of MLC-2006 (2015) and reforms to the Korean Register's ISM audit regime. Prosecution of the vessel's captain for murder-by-negligence.