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Vietnamese Seafarer Arrested in Connection With Captain's Murder

handcuffs
File image / public domain

Published Dec 10, 2021 9:30 PM by The Maritime Executive

[Brief] A 24-year-old Vietnamese seafarer has been arrested in South Korea on charges of murder in connection with the death of his captain, a 44-year-old Chinese national. 

On Wednesday evening, the seafarer's Panama-flagged container ship was transiting the Yellow Sea, bound for the South Korean port of Pyeongtaek-Dangjin Port. At about 2015 hours, the seafarer allegedly stabbed and killed the captain in the ship's wheelhouse. It is believed that the weapon was tossed over the side. 

The remaining crewmembers reported the incident to the South Korean Coast Guard's VTS center, and a coast guard patrol boat met the ship to carry out an arrest. The suspect was detained and the vessel was brought safely into port at Pyeongtaek-Dangjin.

The circumstances of the murder are under investigation, but the other crewmembers have testified that the suspect was intoxicated and that the captain had scolded him, the South Korean Coast Guard told Yonhap. The name of the vessel has not been disclosed.