Authorities in China’s Liaoning Province have reported that a fatal fishing boat capsizing accident in Dalian waters last year resulted in eight deaths and two missing, with 36 individuals held accountable or disciplined.
On Sunday (June 14), the Liaoning Emergency Management Department published on its official WeChat account the investigation report on the major capsizing accident involving the Huludao-based Liaosuiyu 35261 fishing vessel on “10·18.”
The investigation concluded that this was a major production safety liability accident, caused by the shipowner and captain failing to fulfill primary responsibility for safety production, not assigning crew members according to regulations, exceeding the approved number of persons on board, ignoring meteorological warning information, not complying with recall instructions, failing to seek shelter from the wind in a timely manner, and encountering strong winds while returning, leading to the vessel capsizing.
The report specifies that on October 18 last year, at around 1:30 a.m., the Liaosuiyu 35261 vessel capsized in fishing area 27-4 of Dalian waters during its return to port, resulting in eight deaths and two missing persons. After the accident, the Liaoning provincial party committee and government acted quickly to organize search and rescue operations; the provincial government established an accident investigation team to carry out the investigation according to law and regulations. The State Council’s Work Safety Committee put the case under special supervision, dispatching guidance teams to the site to oversee the entire investigation process.
The report specifies that on October 18 last year, at around 1:30 a.m., the Liaosuiyu 35261 vessel capsized in fishing area 27-4 of Dalian waters during its return to port, resulting in eight deaths and two missing persons. After the accident, the Liaoning provincial party committee and government acted quickly to organize search and rescue operations; the provincial government established an accident investigation team to carry out the investigation according to law and regulations. The State Council’s Work Safety Committee put the case under special supervision, dispatching guidance teams to the site to oversee the entire investigation process.
The investigation identified the direct causes as the shipowner and captain not seeking shelter in a timely manner, and setting a farther destination to replace fishing nets instead of a nearby option, thus encountering strong winds and waves on their return route. Meanwhile, the fishing vessel failed to return as ordered; the vessel was overloaded with insufficient professional crew; the supervisory figure at the vessel’s registry did not relay the recall order to the vessel in time; the accountability system was superficial; the procedures for monitoring vessel arrivals and departures were loose; the joint management mechanism for docking at the registry port was unsound; and territorial responsibilities were not effectively implemented.
In response to the issues exposed by the accident, the investigation team summarized multiple lessons: local party committees and governments, industry departments, and business operators did not firmly uphold the principle of putting people’s lives first; shipowners and captains had weak safety awareness; the industry regulation of agriculture and rural (marine fishery) departments at the provincial, city, and county levels had loopholes and blind spots; responsibilities at the local level were not enforced vigorously; and past accident lessons had not been deeply absorbed.
The shipowner involved has been subject to compulsory measures by the judicial authorities. Meanwhile, the Liaoning provincial discipline inspection and supervision commission also set up a special group in parallel to strictly pursue accountability in accordance with rules, discipline, and the law for 36 public officials found responsible in relation to the incident.