The Yomiuri Shimbun
Investigators of the Yokohama Marine Accident Tribunal decided not to appeal the tribunal's ruling handed down Thursday urging the Maritime Self-Defense Force to thoroughly implement safety education measures in the wake of last February's collision between the MSDF destroyer Atago and a fishing boat, it has been learned.
After the deadline for an appeal to the Japan Marine Accident Tribunal in Tokyo expires Thursday, the ruling will be finalized and the recommendation issued to the MSDF's 3rd Escort Flotilla, to which the Atago is attached. The recommendation will be the first of its kind to be issued to the MSDF.
Meanwhile, in a separate legal proceeding, the Yokohama District Public Prosecutors Office is set to indict in the near future Lt. Cmdr. Tomohisa Nagaiwa, 35, the Atago's duty officer at the time of the collision, on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death, sources said.
Thursday's ruling concluded that one cause of the collision was insufficient observation of the fishing boat Seitoku Maru by Nagaiwa.
According to officials connected with the tribunal, investigators have shown dissatisfaction with the ruling, which did not issue a recommendation directly in respect of Nagaiwa, Capt. Ken Funato, 53, the captain of the Atago at the time of the accident, or two other MSDF officers aboard the Aegis-equipped destroyer.
However, the investigators decided not to appeal the ruling because their primary goal has been achieved in having the marine accident tribunal issue a recommendation to the 3rd Escort Flotilla. The tribunal's conclusion that the primary cause of the collision lies on the Atago side for failing to conduct sufficient observation procedures was another reason for the investigators' decision to refrain from appealing, the sources said.
The fishing cooperative the Seitoku Maru belonged to in Katsuura, Chiba Prefecture, said it was basically satisfied with the ruling and this opinion was also taken into account by the investigators in reaching the decision not to appeal the ruling.
(Jan. 28, 2009)
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