Cargo Ship Suspected Of Sinking Yacht

A South Korean cargo ship suspected of ramming and sinking a yacht, killing three Americans, arrived at the western port of Inchon Monday to face an investigation, its owner said.

“The ship is mooring 40 miles off the port awaiting required procedures,” the Pan Ocean Shipping Co of Seoul said.

The 27,000-ton Pan Grace, carrying uncut logs from New Zealand, was a day late because of rough seas.

The ship is suspected of ramming and sinking the 46-foot yacht Melinda Lee in the South Pacific as it sailed Nov. 24 in a flotilla with other yachts from the Tonga islands to the northern tip of New Zealand.

Judith Ann Sleavin, 43, from Santa Clarita, Calif., was the sole survivor of the crash, which killed her son Benjamin, 9, her daughter Anna, 7, and her husband Michael, 42.

She washed ashore on New Zealand’s North Island after drifting for 1-1/2 days on a life raft. She fractured two vertebrae as she scrambled onto rocks.