Australian brings reef fight to Deutsche Bank

A tourism operator from the Great Barrier Reef has come halfway around the world in a last-ditch attempt to save his business. He's hoping to convince European banks not to fund a coal terminal expansion on his doorstep.

Deutsche Welle, 28 May 2014

Signage of a protest against the proposed coal port at Abbot Point, reading Reef In Danger, at the Great Barrier Reef

Tony Brown is a long way from home. Dressed in a navy blue suit, he's sitting in the breakfast room of his Frankfurt hotel, a boiled egg and Brötchen on his plate.

The last time Brown came to Germany, he was in his 20s and the Berlin Wall was still standing. Now a specific mission has brought him back. In a few hours he's planning to address more than 4,000 shareholders at Deutsche Bank's annual general meeting.

"I think our story is compelling, and I think it's important that the banks hear it," he tells DW.

For the past 11 years, the 51-year-old has worked as a tour boat operator in the town of Airlie Beach on Australia's tropical north-east coast. His company takes visitors on sailing trips to the paradisiacal Whitsunday Islands and world-famous Great Barrier Reef.

"There are pristine waters and it's a beautiful place to take people snorkeling and diving, because you can walk straight off a beach into the fringing reefs," he says.

But the expansion of a controversial coal port at Abbot Point, on the reef's doorstep, could put the health of the ecosystem - and Brown's livelihood - at risk.

Tony Brown: 'It's important the
banks hear our story'

The development would make Abbot Point the biggest coal terminal in the world, and involve dumping three million cubic meters of dredged sediment into the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

"That's enough spoil to build a five-meter high, one-meter wide wall from Hamburg to Munich," he says. "If this volume of spoil was dumped in the Black Forest, imagine the response from the people of Germany."

Taking on the banks

This is where the banks come in. Deutsche Bank was one of three lenders to help Indian conglomerate Adani Group refinance the lease on the 30-year-old coal port. Adani is now trying to raise billions more to expand the terminal.

In a final effort to stop the project, Brown bought shares in potential investors - including Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank and HSBC - and travelled to Europe to urge the banks to stay away.

Brown has just come from Paris, where the Societe Generale AGM didn't go quite as planned. He's disappointed, he reports, because the board wasn't interested in what he had to say.

"I'm not going to profess that I'm the oracle on this, but I certainly have looked into this deeply, and tried to understand what is going on here," he says. "Presenting that information is important. At least I'm putting some balance into the discussion."

Reef in trouble

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest coral structure in the world, home to 1,625 types of fish, and an abundance of other marine species, including turtles, whales, dolphins and dugongs.

Brown says he's already seen an increase in shipping traffic in the area, and he worries dredging could have an irrevocable effect on water quality and marine life.

"I'm a business person who's concerned about his business, and I have other operators out there who are concerned about their business and livelihood," he says. "Sea dumping is not best practice, and it needs to be changed if we have any hope of turning around the recovery of the Great Barrier Reef."

 

There are 600 different types of coral and an abundance of marine
life in the Great Barrier Reef

The reef is already under threat from climate change and bleaching coral. UNESCO has also expressed concerns about increasing development along the coastline and is threatening to list the reef as World Heritage "in danger."

Last resort

After breakfast it's time to go. Brown is optimistic about the meeting, and he has some local support behind him. In the past few days more than 180,000 Germans have signed a petition calling on Deutsche Bank not to back the mega coal project.

Heffa Schücking, director of German NGO Urgewald, arrives to accompany Brown to the AGM. It's the one place, she says, "where they have to listen to you."

"If there's anyone out there who does care about this, this is the only way we can reach them. Our experience has been that sometimes at AGMs surprising decisions can be taken to move away from a project."

Making the case

The massive convention center hall at Messe Frankfurt is almost full. Several hours pass, and a string of shareholders speak, before Brown's name is finally called.

He's prepared a statement, but as it has to be in German, an interpreter is on hand to read a translation.

He tells shareholders how the Great Barrier Reef's tourism industry provides almost 60,000 jobs, and annually generates more than 6 billion dollars for the Australian economy.

He also tells them that more than 2 million people visit the reef each year - including 200,000 tourists from Germany.

But before Brown's speech is over, there's some good news. Jürgen Fitschen, one of the bank's co-chief executive officers, turns on his microphone and confirms that the company will not finance the development without an assurance that it would not damage the Great Barrier Reef.

"As there is clearly no consensus between the Australian government and UNESCO regarding the impacts of the Abbot Point expansion on the reef we will not consider financial applications of an expansion," Fitschen says.

Mission accomplished

Back at his hotel, hurriedly packing a suitcase (He has a plane to catch), Brown is pleased with how the day has gone. But he admits there will always be more investors who could step in to fund the coal port.

The Great Barrier Reef is the largest living
 structure on Earth, spanning 2,300 kilometers
(1,430 miles)

"We know the reef's in trouble and needs strong steps to be managed into the future, and Deutsche Bank made those strong steps today," he says.

Heffa Schücking isn't so sure. "As an organization which has over 10 years experience with watching Deutsche Bank, we do have to be careful and stay on our toes," she says. "We will monitor where Deutsche Bank sends its money. We don't want to see indirect financing going towards that harbor or anything else that would destroy the reef."

Next stop on the European tour: the HSBC AGM in London. Brown is hoping he'll have some more good news to take back to his colleagues who live and work on the reef.

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"Fast-Tracking" - Feb 8, 2014 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Carroll) - (Reference to Fukushima / H-bomb nuclear pollution / Oil spills ...  > 20 Min)

South Korea Offers Half-a-Million Dollar Reward For Ferry Operator Owner

Jakarta Globe, Reuters, May 28, 2014

Coastguard boats and search and rescue teams take part in recovery operations
 at the site of the Sewol ferry, off the coast of the South Korean island of Jindo
on April 24, 2014 (AFP Photo/Nicolas Asfouri)

South Korea has hiked to nearly half a million dollars its reward for information leading to the capture of Yoo Byung-un, the head of the family that owns the operator of a ferry that capsized and sank last month, killing more than 300 people.

The figure of 500 million won ($490,000) being offered by authorities after a week of futile searching for Yoo is a tenfold increase from the 50 million set initially, and is the maximum allowed by criminal law as a reward for fugitives.

“This is the largest amount ever offered by an investigative authority as reward,” said a prosecution official involved in the case.

 Yoo is wanted on charges of embezzlement, negligence and tax evasion stemming from a web of business holdings centered around a holding company owned by his sons that ran the ferry operator.

The authorities have also offered 100 million won for tips leading to the arrest of one of the sons. The other is believed to be in the United States. The trio have all evaded summons to appear for questioning and have arrest warrants outstanding.

Yoo’s daughter, who ran one of the companies in the sprawling business empire, was arrested in France, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency said.

Divers are still searching for the bodies of 16 people who remain missing and will begin preparations to cut through the hull of the sunken ferry near the stern, where many of the missing are believed to be, the coast guard said on Tuesday.

The prosecution said the ferry, the Sewol, was structurally defective after a remodelling to add capacity and was massively overloaded with cargo. Making a sharp turn, it failed to restore its balance, and capsized.

Strong currents in the area have made search and recovery operations extremely difficult.

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US navy finds wreck of missing yacht

Upturned hull of Cheeki Rafiki discovered but life raft was still attached and no sign of missing British yachtsmen

TheGuardian, Haroon Siddique and agencies, Saturday 24 May 2014

Overturned hull of the Cheeki Rafiki as discovered by a US
navy warship. Photograph: US navy

The hull of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki, which went missing a week ago with four British sailors on board, has been found by the US navy, the UK Foreign Office has confirmed. Officials said there was still no sign of the missing yachtsmen and the search had been suspended after the life raft was found unused and still attached to the vessel.

Steve Warren, 52, from Bridgwater, Somerset, Andrew Bridge, 22, from Farnham in Surrey, James Male, 23, from Southampton, and Paul Goslin, 56, from West Camel, Somerset were sailing in a treacherous stretch of ocean from a regatta in Antigua to Southampton on 16 May when their yacht capsized and they went missing.

A Foreign Office spokesman said it was keeping in close contact with the US coast guard (USCG), which made the discovery in the north Atlantic. They have informed family members of the missing men of the discovery.

Early on Saturday morning the Foreign Office confirmed the search for survivors had been called off. "I am sad to confirm that the search for the Cheeki Rafiki has now been suspended," said Hugh Robertson, the Foreign Office minister for North America. "My sincere condolences go out to the families of James Male, Andrew Bridge, Steve Warren and Paul Goslin at this very difficult and distressing time."

In a statement on Friday evening the USCG said there was nothing in the wreckage's discovery to suggest the crew would still be alive. "Navy crews observed that the sailing vessel's keel was broken off, causing a breach in the hull.

"The US coast guard has confirmed the life raft aboard the capsized sailing vessel Cheeki Rafiki was secured in its storage space in the aft portion of the boat, Friday, indicating it was not used for emergency purposes.

Damage to the hull of the Cheeki Rafiki.

"A US navy warship smallboat crew and surface swimmer captured underwater imagery clearly identifying the raft in its storage space. The image was shared with and acknowledged by the families.

"The US coast guard made an announcement, Thursday, that search operations would be suspended at midnight Friday unless new information or sightings suggested the crew would still be alive. None of the current developments indicate that to be the case."

It said a US navy warship helicopter crew discovered the overturned hull 1,000 miles off Massachusetts. A close inspection of the debris confirmed the identity of the yacht, which had been flooded.

It said: "The swimmer determined the boat's cabin was flooded and windows were shattered, contributing to the complete flooding inside.

"The swimmer also knocked on the hull and reached an arm's length below the waterline with no results. Surface swimmers are not trained divers and do not perform sub-surface operations."

Early on Saturday morning the Foreign Office released a statement on behalf of Stephen Warren's family. "We are very sad that the US has now suspended the search for Stephen and his friends," they said.

"From the beginning we, together with the other families involved, have continued to hold out hope that he would be found alive. The US Coast Guard have led an exceptional search.

"This is now an incredibly difficult time for all the family. We would therefore request that we are given privacy to come to terms with today's decision."

On Friday the sister of one of the four missing yachtsmen had expressed disappointment at the US coast Guard's decision to call off the search if nothing was found by Saturday morning.

Relatives of the four missing yachtsmen in London. Photograph: Nick Ansell/PA

Kay Coombes, who fought against the initial decision last Sunday to suspend the search, which was reversed in the face of public pressure and intervention by the UK government, said her only hope was that they would find her brother Steve Warren and the others before the deadline.

Captain Anthony Popiel, chief of response at the 1st Coast Guard District, said on Thursday that he had informed the families the operation would be suspended at midnight on Friday (5am Saturday BST) if there were "no further developments to indicate search efforts would locate the crew alive".

Coombes said: "I am a bit disappointed to be honest with you, hopefully they will find something today. Hope is all that we have got now."

Submerged hull of the Cheeki Rafiki.

The search was initially halted on Sunday morning when US officials said the crew would not have survived longer than 20 hours, only for it to resume on Tuesday after the men's friends and relatives accused the US of giving up too easily and started a petition that reached more than 230,000 signatures.

Searchers from the US coast guard, the US air force, the Canadian military and the British RAF, as well as a number of commercial vessels and volunteers, have combed more than 17,000 square miles of ocean in the hunt for the Cheeki Rafiki's crew. Popiel said that the decision to halt the search a second time had been made "after deepest consideration" and said the search team's thoughts and prayers were with the families. He added: "Our focus right now, however, remains with this very active and very dynamic search. We will always put forth utmost efforts to find and rescue those in peril at sea."

Philippines, Indonesia Sign ‘Model’ Maritime Border Accord

Jakarta Globe – AFP, May 23, 2014

Philippine president Benigno Aquino III (EPA Photo)

Manila. Indonesia and the Philippines on Friday signed a maritime border accord, hailing it as a model for peacefully settling increasingly tense territorial disputes in the region.

Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said the agreement, the result of 20 years of negotiations, showed that the escalating rows in the South China Sea could be resolved without violence.

“This indeed is a model, a good example, that any disputes including maritime border tension can be resolved peacefully — not with the use of military might which (may) endanger stability and peace in our region,” Yudhoyono said after overseeing the signing with Philippine President Benigno Aquino at the presidential palace in Manila.

Tensions have flared in the South China Sea, which is believed to hold vast oil and gas deposits, with China embroiled in separate rows with Vietnam and the Philippines over disputed waters.

Deadly riots broke out in Vietnam last week after China deployed an oil rig in contested waters.

Aquino said the new agreement between Indonesia and the Philippines served as “solid proof of our steadfast commitment to uphold the rule of law and pursue the peaceful and equitable settlement of maritime concerns”.

Signed by the Indonesian and Philippine foreign ministers, the agreement delineates the boundaries of both nations’ overlapping exclusive economic zones in the Mindanao Sea, the Celebes Sea and the Philippine Sea.

Under international law, countries have exclusive economic zones extending 200 nautical miles from their coasts that give them rights to resources in those waters. But these zones can overlap between neighbouring countries.

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Brunei, Malaysia and Taiwan have conflicting claims to parts of the South China Sea.

The Philippines and Vietnam have repeatedly expressed concern and more recently anger at what they perceive as increasingly hostile Chinese efforts to assert China’s rule over the disputed areas.

China is also engaged in a worsening dispute with Japan over islands in the East China Sea that has severely damaged relations between Asia’s two biggest economies.

Yudhoyono, in Manila for a state visit and to attend the World Economic Forum on East Asia, voiced alarm at the growing disputes.

“The situation in East Asia is filled with tensions and so is the situation in Southeast Asia, including the South China Sea,” he said.

He urged China and Southeast Asian nations to “return to the spirit” of a 2002 agreement in which they said they would not take any actions that raised tensions in disputed areas.

Agence France-Presse

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Curious public tracks great white shark off US coast

Yahoo – AFP, 20 May 2014

A sign reads, "Swim at Own Risk" at Ballston Beach on Cape Cod

on August 12, 2012 in Truro, Massachusetts

An enormous great white shark swimming along the eastern US coastline is arousing more curiosity than fear as scientists and the public follow her every observable move.

The 14-foot (4.3-meter) shark, nicknamed Katharine, surfaced near Key Largo, Florida Monday night, announcing her presence with a ping from a tracking device placed on her dorsal fin last year.

Weighing 2,300 pounds (1 tonne), Katharine is being followed by the website Ocearch, which is run by a group that tracks a number of sharks to learn more about their habits.

Researchers follow Katharine's migratory movements with the help of the tracking device Ocearch attached to her in August 2013, which pings the researchers whenever it comes to the surface.

In the past month, Katharine has appeared off the coast of Georgia and then swam south to Florida, coming within a few miles (kilometers) of Miami Beach on Saturday, according to the website.

Although the website is updated every half hour, Katharine doesn't surface nearly so often.

With almost 4,000 Twitter followers, the great white's @Shark_Katharine account, managed by Ocearch, is dedicated to answering questions about the life of sharks and debunking myths.

Tagging their posts #GoKatGo, followers have cheered on the great white as "Katharine" weighs in on subjects like eating humans.

"What makes anyone think we'd really want to eat them #notmyflavor" she tweeted Tuesday.

Through Katharine's movements, scientists hope to gain much more information than just her whereabouts.

"If Katharine returns to Cape Cod this August, then it's likely she's not pregnant," Ocearch founder Chris Fischer told the Miami Herald newspaper.

"If she doesn't go back, then she's likely to be pregnant."

The shark cull in Western Australia has been labelled ‘archaic’. Photograph: AAP

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Thousands have gathered on Manly beach in Sydney to protest against WA's
shark culling policy. Source: AAP

Kryon Q&A

Question (2002): Dear Kryon, A friend and I are meditating on the recent shark attacks and feel that it has to do with the planetary changes. We just can’t understand why they have become aggressive. What is the message the sharks are bringing? Why is this happening?
—Thank you,
Maryann

Answer: Indeed there are changes with the environment and also with biology regarding the 12-year grid change. I will first give you what was happening in general: What you are seeing are mammals, amphibians, insects, and even fish that are in areas that are new to them. Every life-form that migrates is effected by magnetics. All life forms that follows certain feeding scenarios and are “following the food” have the potential to be affected. This is due to the changing of the magnetic ley lines of the earth as we have stated before.

The areas where you can see in the ocean most clearly are within those migration patterns closest to the land. Where the ocean interfaces with the land, there are challenges for all these creatures for at least one of their generations. Whales will beach themselves by following old magnetics headings that now “drive” them into peninsula’s and other land areas that were marginally on the edge of their old paths. Birds, amphibians, and insects will be seen to do odd things for awhile.

So these shark fish may be in greater numbers in these coastal areas than in the past, but the increased aggressive behavior was actually something else: There was a tremendous “release” of energy due to the Sept. 11 event. Much like the energy of earthquakes and other earth movement, much of the environment “feels it” coming. We have spoken about how the Sept. 11 event was not a surprise to the earth. [See Lee’s article “Did Kryon give us hints”] So, some of the new actions of these fish were due to an actual energy buildup of coming events... of which you now understand.

If you are paying attention, therefore, you might ask, “Does this mean that Human consciousness issues affect the actual earth?” Yes they do! Finally you may begin to see how global consciousness is tied into the environment, and even to basic physics and reality. They are not separate, and never were. The indigenous knew it, and now the “modern” world is beginning to wonder.

Blessed is the Human Being who understands that what they think, do, and intend, actually drives the reality of the dirt of the planet!

Wind-powered desalination project targets world market

YouTube, China View, 20 May 2014

China has developed a wind-powered seawater desalination project. Not relying on any existing power grid, the project is an ideal choice for islets and desert areas. Developers said the systems are expected to enter foreign markets in three years.

Market Report: Developing Desalination

in China

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Spanish island to be fully powered by wind, water

Yahoo – AFP, Katell Abiven, 28 April 2014

Wind turbines are pictured near the upper reservoir of the Gorona power
station on El Hierro island on March 28, 2014

The smallest and least known of Spain's Canary Islands, El Hierro, is making a splash by becoming the first island in the world fully energy self-sufficient through combined water and wind power.

A wind farm opening at the end of June will turn into electricity the gusts that rake the steep cliffs and green mountains of the volcanic island off the Atlantic coast of Africa.

Its five turbines installed at the northeastern tip of El Hierro near the capital Valverde will have a total output of 11.5 megawatts -- more than enough power to meet the demand of the island's roughly 10,000 residents and its energy-hungry water desalination plants.

The lower reservoir and hydropower station

 at the Gorona power station on El Hierro

 island on March 28, 2014. (Photo by

Desiree Martin/ AFP)

Although other islands around the world are powered by solar or wind energy, experts say El Hierro is the first to secure a constant supply of electricity by combining wind and water power and with no connection to any outside electricity network.

Surplus power from the wind turbines will be used to pump fresh water from a reservoir near the harbour to a larger one at volcanic crater located about 700 metres (2,300 feet) above sea level.

When there is little or no wind, the water will be channelled down to the lower reservoir through turbines to generate electricity in turn.

"This system guarantees us a supply of electricity," said the director of the Gorona del Viento wind power plant, Juan Manuel Quintero who is supervising final tests before the plant starts functioning in a few weeks.

Emplyees work in the pump room at

 the Gorona power station on El Hierro

\ island on March 28, 2014. (Photo by

Desiree Martin/ AFP)

The plant will account for 50 percent of the island's electricity demand when it is officially inaugurated at the end of June, a figure that will rise to 100 percent over the following months.

The scheme will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 18,700 tonnes per year and eliminate the island's annual consumption of 40,000 barrels of oil.

El Hierro will maintain its fuel oil power station as a back up, just in case.

'World pioneer'

The island is cited as a pioneering project by IRENA, the international organisation for renewable energy, and other experts such as Alain Gioda, a climate historian at France IRD science research institute.

"The true novelty of El Hierro is that technicians have managed, without being connected to any national network, to guarantee a stable production of electricity, that comes 100 percent from renewable energy, overcoming the intermittent nature of the wind," he said.

A Turbogenerator set (L) and a lubrication

 (blue) at the Gorona power station on

 El Hierro island on March 28, 2014.

(Photo by Desiree Martin/ AFP)

El Hierro's wind power plant has sparked interest from other islands seeking to follow its example.

Officials from Aruba, Hawaii, Samso in Denmark, Oki in Japan, and Indonesia have all shown interest.

"It is a project which is considered at the world level as a pioneer and it is one of the most important in the production of renewable energy," said the president of island's local council, Alpidio Armas.

"El Hierro can be a sort of laboratory," he added, providing an example to other islands around the world which are home to around 600 million people.

El Hierro, the westernmost of Spain's Canary Islands, has also been invited to present its project at several international conferences, including in Malta and South Korea.

Electric vehicles

El Hierro wants to extend its environmental credentials even further by ensuring that by 2020 all of its 6,000 vehicles are run on electricity thanks to an agreement with the Renault-Nissan alliance.

A recharging point for electric vehicles at

 the Gorona power station on El Hierro

 island on March 28, 2014. (Photo by

Desiree Martin/ AFP)

The wind power plant cost 80 million euros ($110 million) to build.

The island authorities own 60 percent of the plant, with 30 percent held by Spanish energy company Endesa -- a subsidiary of Italian group Enel -- and 10 percent by a local technology institute.

"We wanted to be the owners of the majority of the plant. That means that the profits as well as the possible losses, that is the destiny of Gorona del Viento, is the responsibility of the residents of the island," said Armas.

Revenues from the plant will boost the island's budget by about one to three million euros per year, he said.

"These are revenues that can go to the local residents, to subsidise water prices, infrastructure, social policies," he said.

El Hierro, designated by UNESCO as a Biosphere Reserve with 60 percent of its territory of 278 square kilometres (107 square miles) protected to preserve its natural diversity, also hopes its green energy drive will draw visitors interested in nature and science.

"We cannot turn down the benefits that tourism brings, but we don't want mass tourism," said Armas.

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Beijing's South China Sea resolve unshakable: Xinhua

Want China Times, Xinhua and Staff Reporter 2014-05-20

China National Offshore Oil Corporation's deepwater drilling platform 981
in the disputed South China Sea. (Photo/Xinhua)

From disrupting a Chinese company's oil drilling operations to violence against foreign investors that has left two Chinese nationals dead, Vietnam has gone too far in its unfounded nationalism.

With about three thousand Chinese already evacuated from the country, it's time for Vietnam to pause and reflect on its unreasonable hyping of so-called "territorial disputes" and thus instigation of anti-Chinese sentiment.

Vietnam will feel the pinch for its extreme behavior soon. China's foreign ministry has announced that China will suspend some of its plans for bilateral exchanges with Vietnam in response to the deadly violence.

Chinese airlines have begun to cancel Vietnam-bound flights, while major Chinese travel agencies have suspended their Vietnam tour services.

Chinese tourists paid 1.8 million visits to Vietnam last year, making China one of the major tourist sources for Vietnam.

Moreover, with a bilateral trade volume of over US$50 billion in 2013, China is Vietnam's largest trading partner. The violence will definitely make foreign investors, including Chinese, question whether Vietnam is a viable destination for their funds.

The Vietnamese side should take full responsibility for the damaged bilateral relations and the ensuing economic losses, as the Xisha (Paracel) Islands are China's inherent territory and all Vietnam's claims to the contrary are unfounded.

The operations undertaken by China Oilfield Services Limited (COSL) are only 17 nautical miles from Zhongjian (Triton) Island, completely within China's territorial waters, while they are as far as 130-150 nautical miles (241-278 km) from Vietnam's coastline.

Therefore, COSL's operations are completely within the mandate of China's sovereignty, sovereign rights and jurisdiction.

It makes no sense at all for the Vietnamese side to disrupt a Chinese company's legitimate and legal drilling in China's coastal waters.

Chinese operations in this area did not begin this year or this month. Chinese companies have been operating in these waters for a decade. From last May to June, Chinese companies also carried out 3-D seismic work and drilling field investigation. This was necessary preparation for the drilling, which is a continuation of the work that started 10 years ago.

China's resolve to safeguard its sovereignty and territorial integrity in the South China Sea is and will remain unshakable. And it's high time for Vietnam to stop any new outbreak of violence and more importantly, form correct perception and views on territorial issues.

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South Korea's President Park to disband coastguard in the wake of ferry disaster

Deutsche Welle, 19 May 2014

South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has said she will disband the coastguard following last month's Sewol ferry disaster. The president also said she takes responsibility for the "poor response to this accident."

In a televised address to the nation on Monday, President Park apologized for her government's handling of the ferry disaster and underlined the failure of the coastguard's immediate response to the tragedy. The passenger ferry capsized on April 16, killing more than 300 people, most of them high school students.

"The coast guard's rescue operations were virtually a failure," Park said, adding that she has decided to dismantle the coastguard. She said its responsibilities would be handed over to police and a newly created ministry of national safety.

"As the president responsible for the lives and safety of South Koreans, I offer my sincere apology for all the suffering inflicted upon the people," Park said.

"The ultimate responsibility of the poor response to this accident lies with me," she added. Park had previously formally apologized over the incident several times.

The captain of the ferry, along with three other crew members, have been indicted on homicide charges on suspicion of abandoning the vessel as it sank. Prosecutors also charged the defendants with failing to notify the 476 passengers to leave the ferry.

The tragedy has had a strong impact on the East Asian nation. The tragic loss of life has angered many in the country who view the incident, and its handling, as a sign of corrupt practices and negligence in the public safety sector.

The ferry capsized while en route from the South Korean mainland to the holiday island of Jeju. More than one month after the accident, 286 bodies have been retrieved from the sunken vessel with 18 still unaccounted for. Some 172 people, including 22 of the ship's 29 crew members, survived.

hc/crh (Reuters, AFP, AP)

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