[Updated] Chinese Cruise Ship Retrofit Questioned
Some Chinese media outlets appear to have removed reports that the Eastern Star had been modified in a way that could have impacted passenger movement during the June 1 disaster, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The Eastern Star capsized on the Yangtze River during a storm. Only 14 of the 456 people on board are known to have survived. 434 people are confirmed dead, and eight people are still missing.
The Eastern Star is alleged to have undergone a retrofit that involved passenger cabin doors that led directly out to the ship’s deck being sealed shut and turned into windows, according to a report by Beijing News. The report has now been removed from the website, but it hypothesized that this change, and several others, made the vessel more dangerous and more prone to capsizing.
Quartz news says that unnamed people who had worked on the Eastern Star before the retrofit said that other changes included replacing passengers’ fixed beds with wooden ones. This could be a safety hazard if the beds moved and shifted the vessel’s center of gravity or blocked exits.
The retrofits, conducted in 1997, also included lengthening the ship from 66 to 76.5 meters and changing the vessel’s bow to improve propulsion efficiency.
It is yet to be confirmed that any of these modification did make a difference to the outcome of the June 1 disaster.
No more bodies were found on Tuesday as the search and rescue mission on the Yangtze River continues. Rescuers are searching an area of 22,500 square meters around the site of the disaster.
The vessel has now been towed away from the location where the accident happened as the wreckage could pose a safety risk for other vessels.
60-Strong Investigation Team
Chinese investigators looking into the capsizing have collected a "multitude of first-hand evidence" and have interviewed many people including the captain, state media said on Wednesday.
The 60-strong investigation team is made up of specialists in meteorology, ship design and manufacturing, shipping safety and computing, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a government notice on the inquiry.
"It is subdivided into five groups probing meteorological conditions at the time of the Eastern Star's sinking, the structure and retrofitting of the ship, its fitness to sail and sailors' responsibility, and shipping safety supervision on the Yangtze River," the news agency said.
"Investigators have interviewed survivors, the captain included, shipping company managers, designers and builders of the Eastern Star, and witnesses from other ships."
Computer experts are trying to recover video footage and GPS data from devices recovered when the ship was righted on Friday, which should give details on the ship's route, Xinhua said.
The investigation will be complex and the causes of the sinking "can only be determined through scrupulous scientific methods and simulation tests," it added.
"The conclusion must be scientific and able to stand the test of time," Xinhua said, quoting the government notice.