South Korean government is trying to determine if it is viable to hoist the capsized ferry, Sewol, from the Yellow Sea. 

During a press conference in Seoul on 13 April, the country's Minister of Public Safety and Security, Park In-yong, said he would facilitate a feasibility study.

Park In-yong's comments came a week after President Park Geun-hye and floor leader of the ruling Saenuri Party said the ferry should be salvaged if it is technically feasible and that this should be done as soon as possible to bring closure to the victims' families.

However, Park In-yong also said that several issues need to be resolved before lifting Sewol from the sea. 

Although a government study indicated it would be technically possible, the recovery costs must be assessed, as well as the potential dangers to the divers and salvors. There must also be a 'plan B' if the recovery fails. 

Sewol capsized during a routine Incheon-Jeju trip on 16 April 2014, leaving 304 of the 476 passengers and crew dead or missing. Many of the passengers were Danwon High School students and teachers. 

Nine victims whose bodies are yet to be recovered are Danwon High School teachers Yang Seung-jin and Go Chang-suk; Danwon students Huh Da-yun, Park Young-in, and Cho Eun-hwa; a female passenger, Lee Young-sook; and a father-and-son pair, Kwon Jae-geun and Kwon Hyuk-gyu. 

As Sewol operator Chonghaejin Marine went defunct after the disaster, taxpayers are expected to foot the KRW620 billion (USD560 million) salvage bill. 

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to publish a report on the matter by the end of April 2015. 

In late March, the government announced a compensation package for Sewol victims and their families, but salvaging the ferry and holding an independent inquiry are more important to the families. 

The families claimed that the inquiry would not be impartial as 47 of the 90-member inquiry committee would comprise officials from the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Korea Coast Guard, the very two bodies that have been under fire for botched rescue operations. 

The victims' families have been staging a protest in Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul since 2 April, demanding that an ordinance authorizing the probe be abolished, and on 11 April they scuffled with riot police as they tried to march to the Blue House, the presidential residence.

The probe is separate from the public prosecutors' investigation that resulted in the 36-year imprisonment of Sewol captain Lee Jun-seok for abandonment and negligence on 11 November last year. 

Source: www.ihsmaritime360.com/Chrystal Chan