On November 24th 1999, DASHUN, a Ro-Ro passenger ship owned by
Yanda Automobile Ferry Company Limited whose holding company is
Shandong Shipping Group Company Limited, (hereinafter referred to as
Yanda Company), capsized on her way from Yantai to Dalian. Only 22
out of 304 lives onboard (40 crew members and 264 passengers)
survived while the other 282 people, including the captain, chief
officer and chief engineer were lost. This catastrophe caused a
visible economic loss of 60 million RMB.

1. Particulars of DASHUN and information about her ship
owner

(1) Ship Particulars
Gross Tonnage 9,843
Net
Tonnage 5,118
Dead Weight Tonnage: 2,888 tons
Length of all:
126.3 meters
Width: 20.0 meters
Depth: 6.7 meters
Designed
speed: 18.5 knots
Passenger quota: 520 persons
Type of main
engine: NKK-SEMTIRPC-5V
Power of main engine: 4,629
KW′2
Built: April 20th 1983, Inner Sea Ship Building Company,
Japan
Port of Registry: Yantai, Shangdong Province

DASHUN was imported from Japan at the cost of 6.5 million US
Dollars (Free On Board) in February 1999, serving as a Ro-Ro liner
between Dalian and Yantai. All certificates concerned are complete
and valid. It was considered seaworthy at the time of departure.

(2) Information about her ship owner

The owner, also operator and manager, of DASHUN---Yanda Company
who engages in Ro-Ro conveyance business, was founded on January 11,
1998. Shandong Shipping Group Company is the holding company of
Yanda Company who possesses 9 Ro-Ro passenger ships in total.

2. The Accident

At 1320 on November 24th 1999, DASHUN departed for Dalian after
clearing the endorsement by Yantai MSA, carrying 264 passengers, 40
crewmembers and 61 automobiles (1,722 tons). At 11 o’clock that
morning, the ship received a cold front warning from local
meteorological observatory. With the Siberian cold blast, bitter
winds from north to northeast would be up to force 7-8 on the
Beaufort’s scale while the temperature would plummet by some 10
degrees centigrade.

At 1341, DASHUN cleared No.6 light buoy in the Yantai harbor. The
captain ordered to proceed at a steady speed and then, left the
bridge. The second officer took the conn from the captain.

At 1345, DASHUN passed Xiaoshanzi Island abeam to portside,
proceeding with a course of 018°, at a speed of 15.5 knots.

At 1500, 37°53’.0 N/ 121°34’.5 E in GPS position, the ship
experienced a severe vibration owing to the gale force and rough
sea. The captain, chief officer and chief engineer boarded the
bridge room soon after.

At 1503, the captain ordered engine standby and decelerated the
ship from steadied speed to full ahead (some 12 knots). Several
minutes later, a duty policeman reported that automobiles in the
automobile-holds, probably as a result of shift, were striking each
other. The captain didn’t assign personnel to check the shift nor
took any effective measures. He immediately decided to return to
Yantai to seek shelter.

At 1520, northwesterly wind was up to force 8 on the Beaufort’s
scale. Wave was up to 5 meters in height. Ship position was fixed at
37o56′.0N/121o34′.5E in GPS. The captain slowed down the ship to
half ahead (10 knots) and turned around to the starboard side. As
the result of turning-around and original deviation, the ship
deviated remarkably east of her planning voyage. To proceed back to
the Yantai harbor, the captain adjusted the course to 220o, which
made the ship closer to the beam wind and wave. Additionally,
30-degree rolling of the ship brought the helmsman much difficulty
in controlling the ship. The captain operated the anti-rolling
system with an attempt to cope with the shift and increasing
striking of the automobiles, and tried to prevent from listing
portside.

At 1621, fire siren whistled when the ship was proceeding some 10
miles northeast from Xiaoshanzi Island. The 6th and 7th part of the
hold appeared to catch fire. The captain had the chief and second
officer to organize mariners to put out the fire. As soon as the
side-door of the hatch was opened, a heavy smoke poured out.