In the accident where a sightseeing boat with 26 people was in distress off the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido, the ship's operating company explained to the Japan Coast Guard that "I made a satellite phone call to the sightseeing boat but could not connect." understand.
The Japan Coast Guard is investigating in detail the situation where satellite phones that can communicate even at sea where the radio waves of mobile phones are hard to reach could not be used, including the possibility that the ship was sunk.
On the 23rd, after receiving a report from the sightseeing boat "KAZU 1" with 26 crew members and passengers off the coast of the Shiretoko Peninsula that it was "inundated and sinking", contact was lost, and the Japan Coast Guard and other searches have been conducted so far. 10 people were found in the area, all of which were confirmed dead.
Initially, the tour boat reported to the Japan Coast Guard by mobile phone after 1:00 pm, but since the contact was limited to once, the Japan Coast Guard said that it was difficult for the mobile phone to reach at sea. I think it may have been affected.
On the other hand, the operating company was also in contact with the tourist ship and lost contact at the end around 2:00 pm, but the company told the Japan Coast Guard, "I tried to make a satellite phone call to the tourist ship. I did, but I couldn't connect. "
The Japan Coast Guard is investigating the situation in which satellite phones that can communicate at sea were not available, including the possibility that the ship was sunk.