JR Kyushu’s ferry unit punished for water leak cover-up

The transport ministry imposed administrative punishment Tuesday on the jet ferry subsidiary of Kyushu Railway, or JR Kyushu, for concealing a water leak on a high-speed passenger ship.
The ministry ordered the unit, JR Kyushu Jet Ferry, to dismiss its managers of transportation safety and ship operations under the marine transportation law. It was the first time for the ministry to issue such an order.
In addition, the ministry told JR Kyushu Jet Ferry to secure safety in its second such order to the company.
While concealing the problem, JR Kyushu Jet Ferry kept operating for three and a half months the Queen Beetle high-speed ferry linking the district of Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, and the South Korean city of Busan.
In August, JR Kyushu announced the subsidiary’s failure to report to the ministry the water ingress in the bow section of the vessel, saying that the cover-up was based on instructions from the subsidiary’s leadership. The then-president of the subsidiary, Wataru Tanaka, was dismissed.
The cover-up was brought to light through the ministry’s surprise inspection. The jet ferry service remains suspended from Aug. 13.
In June 2023, the ministry ordered JR Kyushu Jet Ferry to secure safety after the company was found to have continued the ferry operations without having the ship go through a necessary inspection despite a crack in the hull.
On Tuesday, the ministry blamed the subsidiary for its malignant violations of the law, telling it to remove the safety and operational managers by the end of October and take measures to prevent recurrences.
After receiving the written orders at the ministry, President Kenji Oba said, “We will strive to rebuild our safety management system.”