The sinking of South Korean Corvette Cheonan

[plawolf]

It seems that this incident is going from bad to worse for poor SK. First loosing a ship without knowing how, then a diver was killed and others injured and now a fishing boat has sunk in the area, apparently having collided with a freighter.

Although I would resist the temptation to start spinning conspiracy at this point as all of the 'unexplained' events could have perfectly logical, if somewhat boring, explanations.

If you were a ROK captain patrolling what you know to be very dangerous waters a stones thrown from NK, you would understandably be a little on edge.

If suddenly out of the blue your sister ship gets ripped in two by an explosion and starts to sink, it would be pretty natural to fear (and maybe even assume) the worst and think you are under attack and you would be looking for something to shoot back at before you got sunk yourself. At this point, that radar contact that you swore were a flock of birds might start looking more and more like a L-O NK FAC/Torpedo boat...

As for keeping the survivors isolated, well that could easily be because the ROK Government and Navy doesn't have the foggiest about what happened and would prefer to found out themselves before reading about it in the tabloids.

What more, the human memory is a very malleable thing and the last thing you want in situations like this is to have the survivors chatting away about what happened and potentially contaminating each other's memories of what really happened.

 

[jantxv]

At least an extensive salvage of the Cheonan is going full steam ahead. Barges and cranes are en-route to pick up the two halves of the Cheonan and trawlers with nets will sweep up everything else on the sea floor.

Apparently, Washington is demanding proof beyond a reasonable doubt before it entertains the idea of North Korean involvement. It would seem those in the US State Department didn't think that the South Koreans would actually have the tenacity to raise the ship of that size for one of the more detailed forensic salvages in history.

Also Saturday, the Navy said it has deployed two more mine sweepers to the area to help find debris that could have been left from an explosive device like a sea mine or torpedo. A total of 37 salvage vessels and underwater demolition team divers have been dispatched to help find clues as to why the ship sank.

A 2,000-ton sea crane that will be used to lift the corvette from the sea bottom arrived near Socheong Island, south of where the Cheonan was lost. The ship has anchored near the island, located about 170 kilometers west of Seoul, and can reach the site of the sunken ship within three hours.

A barge that will carry the Cheonan back to port arrived Wednesday and is ready for deployment.

[email protected]

The Washington equivocations:

U.S. Downplays Likelihood of N.Korean Hand in Shipwreck

The U.S. government is being cautious about speculation that North Korea was involved in the sinking of a South Korean Navy corvette near the inter-Korean maritime border on Friday.

Asked whether the ship was torpedoed by another country, Deputy U.S. Secretary of State James Steinberg on Monday said, "Obviously the full investigation needs to go forward. But to my knowledge, there's no reason to believe or to be concerned that that may have been the cause." Steinberg expressed his government's condolences to the South Korean people over the tragedy.

Asked about the South Korean defense minister's remark that he did "not rule out" North Korea's involvement, U.S. State Department Spokesman Philip Crowley told reporters, "Well, we'll defer to South Korea to make their judgment. I don't think we're aware that there were any factors in that other than the ship itself."

The U.S. government has apparently come to that tentative conclusion based on North Korea's movements before and after the ship sank. Observers speculate Washington may also be wary of inflaming North Korea by drawing hasty conclusions and thereby hurting the chances of resuming stalled six-country nuclear talks.

"The U.S. government feels it's important for the South Korean government to conduct a thorough investigation of what caused the Cheonan to split in half," a source in Washington said. "Even if a North Korean link is discovered, Washington is not going to jump ahead of the South Korean government’s announcement."
[email protected] / Mar. 31, 2010 11:21 KST

 

[siegecrossbow]

A question regarding the South Korean rescue efforts:

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Efforts to enter the hull of the sunken South Korea Cheonan warship were foiled Tuesday by strong underwater currents, dimming hope for the survival of the 46 sailors thought to be trapped inside.

Divers worked throughout the day to no avail trying to gain access to the Cheonan, a Navy corvette that was blown in two Friday night in a mysterious explosion and now sits 40 meters under water. Fifty-eight other sailors were pulled from the ship as it sank near the disputed Yellow Sea border with North Korea.

An estimate for when survivors inside the broken ship would run out of air passed Monday night, but rescuers were continuing to pump oxygen inside the vessel, hoping to extend the window.

I am intrigued by the part of "pumping oxygen inside the vessel". How exactly is that supposed to work? Another thing I am confused about is how the South Koreans knew how much air the Cheonan had when it was underwater? Is it possible for a ship to receive that kind of damage and still have undamaged bulkheads? Are they proposing that Cheonan is acting as a submersible right now?

 

[plawolf]

A very simple example of how this works can be recreated with a sink full of water, a glass and a straw. Put the glass upsidedown into the water and you can trap an air bubble under the water. Stick the straw in from under the glass and you can blow air into it.

Warships are designed especially so that bulkheads will remain water(and air) tight even after an explosion in the ship (obviously not the immediate area that just got blown up). This to stop water getting in in the event the ship is holed, but works equally well at keeping air in.

If there were survivors, air is going to be the immediate concern, but if anyone has survived long enough for them to get the air pipes in place, keeping warm and fighting off hyperthermia will be their biggest concern.

Personally, I don't expect to see any survivors after this long, which is probably why the focus has moved away from rescue to salvage now.

 

[siegecrossbow]

A very simple example of how this works can be recreated with a sink full of water, a glass and a straw. Put the glass upsidedown into the water and you can trap an air bubble under the water. Stick the straw in from under the glass and you can blow air into it.

Warships are designed especially so that bulkheads will remain water(and air) tight even after an explosion in the ship (obviously not the immediate area that just got blown up). This to stop water getting in in the event the ship is holed, but works equally well at keeping air in.

If there were survivors, air is going to be the immediate concern, but if anyone has survived long enough for them to get the air pipes in place, keeping warm and fighting off hyperthermia will be their biggest concern.

Personally, I don't expect to see any survivors after this long, which is probably why the focus has moved away from rescue to salvage now.

Cool I didn't know about this form of rescue before! Unfortunately it looks like the South Koreans failed to rescue any more sailors:

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SKorea stops underwater search for missing sailors

By KWANG-TAE KIM (AP) – Apr 3, 2010

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea's military ended its underwater search for dozens of sailors missing from a navy ship that sank following a mysterious blast eight days ago, an official said Saturday.

Families of the sailors asked the military to suspend the operation for fear of additional casualties among divers after one died and as chances of finding survivors grew increasingly unlikely after the discovery of the body of one of the sailors.

The decision came hours after divers discovered the body of a senior chief petty officer in the ship's rear area, the first of the 46 missing sailors to be found.

The Joint Chiefs of Staff said it stopped the underwater search out of respect for the families' request and will work to recover the 1,200-ton Cheonan.

Officials have said the salvage effort could last a month.

The vessel sank following an explosion March 26 during a routine patrol. Fifty-eight crew members, including the captain, were rescued soon after.

The ship broke into two pieces after the explosion. No cause has been determined for the blast and, despite some speculation, there has been no confirmation of North Korean involvement in the sinking, which occurred near the countries' disputed sea border in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of the Korean peninsula.

Defense Minister Kim Tae-young has said that a floating mine dispatched from North Korea was one possible explanation for the blast. A mine left over from the 1950-53 Korean War may also have struck the ship, he said.

Other officials say the cause of the explosion can only be determined after the sunken ship is recovered.

The sinking was one of South Korea's worst naval disasters. In 1974, a ship sank off the southeast coast in stormy weather, killing 159 sailors and coast guard personnel. In 1967, 39 sailors were killed by North Korean artillery.

Since the ordeal began, the families of the missing Cheonan sailors have expressed anger at the navy over what they saw as the slow pace of the rescue operation.

Separately, South Korea's coast guard found the bodies of two of nine fishermen whose boat disappeared as it sailed toward fishing grounds after helping to search for debris and possible survivors from the Cheonan.

The bodies of one South Korean and one Indonesian fishermen were discovered Saturday after contact was lost with the boat late Friday, said coast guard official Lee Kyo-min. The search was continuing for another Indonesian and six other South Korean crew members of the fishing boat.

Also, a funeral ceremony was held Saturday for a military diver who died during an attempt earlier in the week to reach the missing Cheonan sailors possibly trapped in the ship

Looks like we need a month to find out what exactly caused the explosion on Cheonan. Hopefully there won't be any more coverups...

 

[AssassinsMace]

Here's a video of the ship being raised out of the water. Unless they're showing the wrong video that doesn't look like the ship was "snapped in two" like the reporter states. Looks like bow damage.

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[plawolf]

Aye, looks like the bow of the ship was ripped away up to the second turret. This would lend weight to the theory of the ship hitting a mine as a torpedo would be far more likely to hit the middle of the ship.

 

[Scratch]

The voice in that vid even says it's hoped the stern of the ship will provide some evidance. That's in line I think with earlier reports that say the ship suffered damage at the stern; if I'm correct.
But, isn't the stern the aft end of a ship. The stern on that ship looks perfectly fine. The vid even showed the damaged and covered bow of the ship when the reporster mentioned the stern ... ???

 

[Pointblank]

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, which was the likely cause for the sinking:

SKorea says external explosion likely sank ship
AP

Navy personnel carry the one of the body of the 46 missing sailors of the sunken South Korean naval ship Cheonan, at the naval port in Pyeongtaek, sou AP – Navy personnel carry the one of the body of the 46 missing sailors of the sunken South Korean naval ship …
By KWANG-TAE KIM, Associated Press Writer Kwang-tae Kim, Associated Press Writer – 53 mins ago

SEOUL, South Korea – An external explosion most likely sank a South Korean navy ship that split apart three weeks ago, an investigator said Friday, amid concerns about possible North Korea involvement in the disaster.

The 1,200-ton Cheonan split into two pieces after exploding March 26 during a routine patrol near the tense maritime border with North Korea. Fifty-eight crew members were rescued, but 46 were missing for weeks.

There has been some suspicion but no confirmation of North Korean involvement in the sinking. The disputed western sea border has in the past been the scene of three bloody inter-Korean naval battles. South Korean officials have said they will look into all possibilities, including that the ship might have been struck by a North Korean torpedo or a mine left over from the 1950-53 Korean War. The conflict ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty, leaving the Koreas still technically at war.

North Korean officials have reportedly denied their country's involvement in the blast.

The salvage operation began Thursday, with officials retrieving 38 bodies so far. Eight other remain unaccounted for, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

A team of 38 investigators, including U.S. navy officials, conducted a preliminary investigation of the ship's stern after lifting it out of the water. The stern was to be moved to a naval base to investigate the cause of the explosion while the remaining two-thirds of the ship is to be salvaged next week, military officials said.

"There is a high possibility of an external explosion rather than an internal explosion," chief investigator Yoon Duk-yong told reporters Friday. He said further analysis and time are needed to determine the exact cause of the blast, after salvaging the ship's other wreckage and collecting debris.

He also said the explosion may have occurred near the ship or that something may have hit the ship.

To ascertain whether North Korea was involved, authorities would have to look at the shape of broken ship parts and recover splinters of a torpedo or a sea mine and determine whether the North had such weapons, said Lee Hyun-yup, a marine engineering expert at Chungnam National University in South Korea. It could take years to find the exact cause, he said.

The sinking was one of South Korea's worst naval disasters. In 1974, a ship sank off the southeast coast in stormy weather, killing 159 sailors and coast guard personnel. In 1967, 39 sailors were killed by North Korean artillery.

South Korea has asked the U.S., Australia, Britain and Sweden to send experts for a joint investigation. A team of eight U.S. investigators, led by Rear Admiral Thomas J. Eccles, arrived in South Korea earlier this week, according to South Korea's Defense Ministry.

Meanwhile, a Lynx helicopter carrying four crew crashed into the country's southwestern waters during a patrol Thursday night, according to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Navy and coast guard vessels recovered a body and parts of helicopter wreckage and were searching for the three other flight crew.

 

[Scriitor]

The voice in that vid even says it's hoped the stern of the ship will provide some evidance. That's in line I think with earlier reports that say the ship suffered damage at the stern; if I'm correct.
But, isn't the stern the aft end of a ship. The stern on that ship looks perfectly fine. The vid even showed the damaged and covered bow of the ship when the reporster mentioned the stern ... ???

I don't think you guys are understanding what you're seeing. The stern looks intact in that video because the corvette was broken in two. That's only half the ship. The bow, which held the surviving 58 crew members, is yet to be raised.