The stricken South Korean ferry Sewol arrived at the country's southwestern port of Mokpo at around 1:30 p.m. local time on Friday.
The ship, escorted by five coast guard vessels, was carried by a semi-submersible ship en route to the Mokpo port, where a search for nine passengers still missing is to commence, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News Agency.
Salvage operators raised the 6,800-ton Sewol ferry from the sea and loaded it on the semi-submersible ship last Friday.
The ship sank in April 2014, killing 304 people on board, most of whom were high school students on a trip to Jindo, the closest port to the accident site.
Family members of the victims have gathered at Mokpo since Friday morning, having waited nearly three years to lay their relatives to rest.
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