GPS malfunction gives sea captain huge scare near Incheon

Park Yeong-cheol, the captain of the New Golden Bridge No. 5, a 29,000 ton-class Panamanian-flagged car ferry, had a chilling experience Thursday afternoon when entering the port of Incheon after departing from Qingdao, China.

A vessel appeared out of nowhere on his ship`s right though nothing showed up on the monitor of the automatic identification system, which is dependent on the global positioning system, or GPS. Fortunately, he detected the vessel with his eyes due to the clear weather but panicked over the failure of high-tech devices to detect the ship.

342 passengers and 45 crew members were aboard his ferry. From the point where the ship entered the area near Incheon Bridge to just before entering the sluice of the port, key information such as the ship`s location and speed was marked in stars, though the data is usually displayed in numerical values.

In addition, the automatic identification system monitor, which was supposed to show the locations of other vessels, displayed ships that were not operating in the area. According to shipping companies, GPS devices give accurate information on the main vessel`s location, navigation speed and direction. When linked with the radar system, GPS provides detailed data on other vessels` locations and speed, playing a crucial role in ensuring navigational safety. Such navigational systems have been disrupted lately, however, in waters off Incheon.

Park said the GPS on his ship had been malfunctioning on sections linking Palmi Island, Incheon Bridge and the port since last Thursday. He had to slow down his ferry and carefully watch the surrounding areas with his eyes when navigating through the sections.

"GPS disruption on a foggy day could result in a huge maritime accident," the captain said. "I`m extra careful because I experienced a similar phenomenon around the time when the (South Korean naval vessel) Cheonan was sunk by a torpedo attack (by North Korea)."

run-juno@donga.com