Six missing after tugboat capsizes off Busan during towing operation

A 286-ton tugboat, the TNS Catcher, capsized and sank off Oryukdo near Busan's Nam-gu on 2 Sep 2026 while towing a container ship, leaving six of eight crew members missing. The vessel went down around 1:29 p.m., approximately 9 km east of Oryukdo. Two people were rescued, but one, a Korean crew member, later died in hospital. The remaining six, five Koreans and one Indonesian, remain unaccounted for. Busan Coast Guard chief Sung Dae-hoon said three tugboats were involved in the towing operation, two pulling the container ship from the front and one pushing from the stern. The TNS Catcher, positioned at the front right, is believed to have capsized due to tension on its towing rope while making a rightward turn. CCTV footage from the container ship showed the tugboat flipping to the left immediately after the turn. Investigators suspect mismatched speed and timing caused a recoil effect, though it remains unconfirmed whether the towing rope became entangled. No collision with the container ship has been identified, and the tugboat's 3,600-horsepower engine showed no mechanical issues. Built in 2007 and registered in Busan, the vessel measured about 31 meters long and 11 meters wide. It drifted 4.5 km northeast before sinking and was later located 6.5 km east of Songjeong Port at a depth of roughly 87 meters. A naval ROV deployed for underwater search found nothing amid visibility of just 30 cm. The Coast Guard has formed a 41-officer investigation team, questioned six shipping company staff, and collected AIS, VDR and CCTV data. Search operations now cover a 66 by 40 km area divided into 17 zones, involving 24 vessels and seven aircraft with military and civilian support.