Japan Coast Guard Raids JR Kyushu Unit over Water Leak

Fukuoka, Oct. 17 (Jiji Press)--Investigators from the Japan Coast Guard raided a unit of Kyushu Railway Co., or JR Kyushu, Thursday over operating a high-speed passenger ship while concealing a water leak, people familiar with the investigation said.

JR Kyushu Jet Ferry Inc. operated the Queen Beetle high-speed ferry linking the southwestern Japan district of Hakata, Fukuoka Prefecture, and the South Korean city of Busan for three and a half months while hiding the problem.

The company is suspected of not having the vessel undergo testing in violation of the ship safety law and the marine transportation law, the people said.

The coast guard investigators searched JR Kyushu Jet Ferry’s headquarters and the inside of the Queen Beetle.

JR Kyushu Jet Ferry found a water leak at the bow of the Queen Beetle in February but did not report it to a local transport bureau and recorded no issues in its logbook and maintenance records. The vessel remained in operation until the company reported the leak to the bureau at the end of May.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]