Victims’ families to sue Japanese tour boat operator over deadly sinking

By Baird Maritime - April 23, 2024.

The ill-fated tour boat Kazu I, which sank off Japan's main island of Hokkaido on April 23, 2022. Fourteen of the 26 people who were on board the vessel that day are confirmed to have died. (Photo: Shiretoko Pleasure Cruiser)

Japanese news outlet The Asahi Shimbun reports that the families of some of the deceased victims of a tour boat sinking that occurred off Japan’s Hokkaido island two years prior intend to press charges against the vessel’s operating company and its president in relation to the incident.

Lawyers representing the families confirmed that a civil suit will be filed at the Sapporo District Court in late May of this year against Shiretoko Pleasure Cruiser and its president, Seiichi Katsurada, with the aim of seeking damages and compensation following the loss of the tour boat Kazu I on April 23, 2022.

On the said date, the vessel was operating off Hokkaido’s Shiretoko Peninsula with 26 people on board when its crew sent out a distress call reporting water ingress due to rough sea conditions.

Another radio message sent by the crew around two hours later stated that the vessel had listed by over 30 degrees. All contact with the vessel was lost shortly afterwards.

The subsequent search and rescue operation led to the recovery of 14 bodies, all confirmed to be those of passengers on Kazu I. One deceased individual was reportedly found by the crew of a Russian patrol boat just off Russian-held Kunashiri Island east of Shiretoko.

The vessel itself was found six days after it sank, its wreckage being located at a depth of 120 metres with the aid of sonar.

Speaking at a press conference in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, Katsurada confessed that Kazu I was ordered to sail on its scheduled excursion for April 23 despite a forecast of rough seas and strong winds in the area off Hokkaido.

Katsurada has reportedly not been seen in public since the incident. However, the Japan Coast Guard is nonetheless continuing its investigation into his criminal responsibility.

Katsurada would likely face charges of professional negligence resulting in death.

A report released by the Japan Transport Safety Board said that a safety management system “did not exist” as far as Shiretoko Pleasure Cruiser was concerned and that Katsurada had been appointed as the company’s chief safety manager despite his lacking the necessary qualifications.