Final journey of ill-fated Sewol ferry to begin soon

In South Korea, the Sewol ferry, which sank in 2014, killing 304 people, will soon be on its way back to land.

The ill-fated Sewol ferry has now been lifted from the ocean floor, raised onto a semi-submersible ship, and is ready to leave waters off the southwestern tip of the Korean Peninsula where it’s been now for the past three years.

Crews from Shanghai Salvage are putting the finishing touches on securing the vessel. The Sewol will then be transported to Mokpo New Port, about 100km away. The final decision on when to depart will be made by the Dutch captain of the transport vessel. The journey will take anywhere from 8 to 12 hours.

It all depends on the elements. Forecasts indicate the weather is going to be on the side of the salvage operation, with waves set to be relatively calm. Once the sunken ferry arrives, it will take several more days to dock. From there, the priority is to search for the nine passengers that are still unaccounted for. That’s always been the top priority in this immense operation. Afterwards, inspectors will then try to gather more evidence and information on what exactly caused the Sewol to sink.

Officials also predict dangerous conditions. There’s a considerable amount of oil thought to be leaking inside the ship not only from the boat itself, but also the vehicles that were being ferried inside the Sewol.

Family members are expected to gather at the port sometime early Friday morning. They’ve waited for nearly three years for this moment to finally have the chance to be reunited with their loved ones.