골든로즈호-진셩호 해상충돌사건의 국제법상 쟁점

There was an incident that was being billed as ‘a hit and run’ by a Chinese container ship, ‘Jinsheng’, resulted in the loss of a Korean cargo vessel, ‘Golden Rose’, on Saturday, May 12, 2007. While Chinese authorities exhort their departments and rescue services to do everything in their power to find the missing sixteen sailors, the Ministry of Communications revealed its findings at a press conference in Beijing, saying the ‘Jinsheng’ was primarily responsible for the collision with the Republic of Korea vessel ‘Golden Rose’. According to investigations jointly carried by Chinese and Korean experts, the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System(GMDSS) and the Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon(EPIRB) on the Korean ship failed to activate when the accident occurred. Wang Jinfu, head of the Chinese investigation team admitted that the Chinese ship, Shandong Lufeng Shipping Ltd., left the accident scene before fulfilling its search and rescue obligations and the Chinese authorities would investigate this issue and prosecute the company. He allegedly said that both ships were responsible for the delay in the rescue operation, adding the Korean investigators would further investigate the causes of the emergency system failure on the ‘Golden Rose’. Now, this incident is still pending investigation by Korean Maritime Safety Tribunal ever since the release of last June's report. It seems at first sight as if it is a simple accident in a private-sector, rather than governmental forum, because the incident occurred by the default of the Chinese ship. However, more than 300 Chinese rescue vessels and helicopters were involved in the search over the three weeks and thirty four divers were mobilized. Given the circumstances, it is possible to see in the series of events international law issues including jurisdiction problems, registration of the Jinsheng, exhaustion of local remedies, nationality claims and so on. Through the upcoming final report of Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal, we can accuse the Chinese authorities of direct injury or indirect injury by characterizing the accident as the result of a chain of events occurring after delay in the rescue operation. Considering its temporal and special characteristics in Bohai bay area of China, we can also make the legal status of the Bohai Sea area the focal point of the next major international controversy. In conclusion, while this study addresses legal aspects of ship collision, it is very crucial to boil the case down to a model of international cooperation in the 21st century.