Head of Japanese Cruise Boat Company Arrested for Fatal 2022 Sinking

Japanese authorities have arrested the head of a tour boat company that operated the Kazu I, an excursion vessel that was lost with all hands off Hokkaido in 2022. 

On April 23, 2022, the tour boat Kazu I was out on a cruise excursion off the west coast of Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula, a popular destination for viewing floating ice drifting down from the Siberian coast.  There were two crewmembers and 24 passengers aboard, including two children. Surface conditions were rough, with forecast wave heights of about 10 feet, and many other small vessel operators had decided to return to port or avoid venturing out. 

The vessel issued a distress call to its operating company using an amateur radio (HAM radio) frequency at about 1315, reporting flooding from an unspecified location. The crew had ordered the passengers to don life vests out of concern that the vessel could sink. 

The Japan Coast Guard received a cell phone call from the master about 18 minutes later, and passengers made final phone calls to their loved ones over cell networks. The last communication was received by a family member at 1321 hours, less than half an hour after the initial distress call. 

The Japan Coast Guard launched an extensive search and rescue operation. The water temperature in the area approaches freezing, and the first rescue helicopter arrived at 1630 hours. No survivors were found. Over the course of the following weeks and months, 20 bodies were recovered from the surface and the wreckage, and six were never found. 

The Kazu I was found to be operating beyond the wind speed limits of its certificate of inspection, and the CEO of operator Shiretoko Pleasure Cruise admitted that the vessel's satellite phone and radio equipment were inoperable before the voyage. Kazu I was also out of compliance with a local agreement to dispatch tour boats in pairs for safety. Japan's minister of transport castigated the operator's decision to dispatch the vessel on the casualty voyage as "unthinkable," and the Japan Coast Guard launched a criminal investigation. 

The post-accident inquiry was "extremely difficult" because there were no survivors to testify about the circumstances of the casualty. Using physical evidence from the recovered wreckage, a transport investigative board determined that the vessel likely flooded through an open hatch towards the bow. On Wednesday, the Japan Coast Guard arrested Shiretoko Pleasure Cruise President Seiichi Katsurada on charges of professional negligence resulting in death, among other alleged offenses. The arrest was prompted in part by concerns that the suspect could destroy evidence, the Japan Coast Guard told Japan Times. 

"The suspect was remiss in his duty to ensure the safety of passengers and crew, which caused this accident," a coast guard official told media. 

Top image: 663Highland / CC BY 2.5