A Japan Coast Guard's ship trying to chase out a fishing boat from Japan's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). (Image via Ships & Ports)

Japan releases video footage of N. Korean fishing boat collision

On Friday, the Japanese government released 13-minute-long video footage showing the ship collision between the North Korean (N. Korea) fishing boat and Okuni, a Japanese sea patrol boat belonging to the Fisheries Agency.

The video shows the collision between the N. Korean fishing boat and Okuni around 350 km northwest of the Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, on 7 October. In the footage, Okuni is seen directing water cannon as a final warning for the fishing boat to leave the Sea of Japan.

Okuni is positioned on the left side of the fishing boat when both ships are sailing in parallel. That is when the N. Korean fishing boat made a sudden turn to the left side and hit Okuni. Okuni’s bow collides with the port side of the fishing boat. Hence, it was evident that the N. Korean fishing boat was the one making the abrupt turn causing its own demise.

The N. Korean subsequently sinks due to the collision. However, the footage continues as the crews of Okuni begin rescue operations for the sunken fishing ship’s crew using lifeboats and rafts. The N. Korean crews immediately board other N. Korean vessels to leave the territory.

Director-General of the Resources Management Department of the Fisheries Agency, Takashi Koya, said that the video is not edited from the beginning to the end. Yet, the video was clipped as the original length was around four hours. Koya explained further that the action of the Okuni and the water cannon are the appropriate procedures.

Ordinarily, the Fisheries Agency does not release footage of its crackdowns on illegal activities. However, the video release was deemed important to show that the Japanese sea patrol boat was on the right, debunking Pyongyang’s accusations.

Upon salvaging the fishing boat, it was found out that the N. Korean fishing boat was squid-poaching illegally, proved by the lines of dried squid on the deck.

Last Saturday, Pyongyang “strongly” demanded Japan to compensate for the sunken fishing ship and urged Japan to assure that the incident will not reoccur in the future. Pyongyang referred to the incident as a “gangster” act from the Japanese.

Illegal poaching has been intensifying around the Sea of Japan; hence, the Japanese government steps up to tackle the issue.

Source: https://bit.ly/2qkwTya