THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
April 28, 2022 at 16:42 JST
Kazu I, the tour boat that went missing off eastern Hokkaido on April 23, 2022, with 26 people on board (From the website of Shiretoko Pleasure Boat)
The transport ministry moved April 28 to review safety measures for small passenger craft in the aftermath of a pleasure boat disaster that left 11 people dead and 15 others missing off the scenic Shiretoko Peninsula in eastern Hokkaido, far northern Japan.
It will set up a panel of experts to consider possible legal steps to secure that such craft operate safely, officials said.
Among the points experts will weigh are the safety management code, including conditions under which a boat trip cannot go ahead, ensuring the effectiveness of official inspections, a list of equipment that should be required as safeguards, such as ham radio and life-saving apparatus, and disciplinary measures for those who violate inspection and administrative procedures.
The panel is scheduled to hold its first meeting in May for an intermediary report to be issued this summer.
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