Radio Exchanges Suggest Tour Boat In Dire Situation
Radio exchanges between the captain of the tour boat that went missing off the northern prefecture of Hokkaido and another tour vessel operator suggest the boat faced an increasingly dire situation.
A source revealed that the operator of the missing boat, Kazu One, had its radio antenna broken several months ago. The captain, Toyoda Noriyuki, was therefore communicating by radio with the other operator.
There were reportedly three exchanges between them since the boat left port.
In the first exchange, the captain reported that his boat had passed a scenic waterfall.
In the second, he reported that waves were getting higher, so the boat would have to slow down and it would take longer to return to the port.
The captain suddenly seemed tense in the third and final exchange. He said the boat was in trouble, and he could be heard telling someone to have the passengers put on life vests. Contact with the boat was lost after that.
A staff member at the operator who heard the exchanges was alarmed and decided to call the coast guard.
The source said the operator of Kazu One only had three employees, so the captain had so much to do by himself and probably had no time to check the weather forecast.
The source described the captain as having good navigating skills but little experience, and said he appeared not to have been taught much.