선박화재 관련 선원의 징계와 형사처벌에 관한 연구

Abstract

A fire on a ship causes a large amount of damage to hull and all cargoes on board, and the fire extinguishing work must depend solely on crews without external help, and it is very difficult to prove negligence of relevant parties. In particular, due to the recent increase of large-scale ships, damage to life and property has also been increased in the event of a ship fire accident. Well known huge ship fire cases in Korea include the car carrier “Auto Banner” fire accident at Incheon Port in 2018, car carrier “Platinum Ray” fire accident at Ulsan Port in 2019, the chemical carrier “Stolt Groenland” fire/explosion accident at Ulsan Port in 2019, and the cable layer “Responder” fire/sinking accident in 2020. In fact, various legal issues arise when such a ship fire accident occurs, and legal relationship between relevant parties is also complicated. But recently, the existence of disciplinary action and criminal penalties of seafarers regarding the cause of fire and the appropriateness of firefighting work has become an issue. Disciplinary action and criminal penalties of on seafarers have a significant impact on whether or not the civil liability exists and the extent of civil liability between the relevant parties, so it is necessary to establish explicit standards for determining the negligence, discipline, and punishment of seafarers in firefighting work. This study reviewed and analyzed specific cases in which the Maritime Safety Tribunal and the Criminal Court acknowledged the fault/negligence of seafarers and punished them in relation to ship fires, and draw out problems and improvement plans such as legalization of seafarers' firefighting duties.