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Sensors and Materials, Volume 38, Number 6(4) (2026)
Copyright(C) MYU K.K.
pp. 3365-3390
S&M4508 Research paper
https://doi.org/10.18494/SAM6185
Published: June 26, 2026

Applicability Assessment of Integrated Heavy-class Remotely Operated Vehicle–Manned Diving Operational Frameworks: A Case Study of the Sewol Ferry Disaster [PDF]

Woo-Dong Lee, Seongkyeong Jeong, Taeyoon Kim, Yeonjoong Kim, and Myounghoon Kim

(Received December 1, 2025; Accepted June 15, 2026)

Keywords: integrated ROV–diver operations, underwater search and rescue (USAR), high-current environments, marine disaster response, Sewol ferry disaster

In this study, we quantitatively evaluated the applicability of an integrated operational framework combining a heavy-class remotely operated vehicle (ROV) with manned diving systems, including the surface-supplied diving system (SSDS) and self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA), under predicted tidal conditions at the Sewol ferry disaster site. A 31-day tidal-current dataset was analyzed to assess operational durations, phase-based deployment strategies, and personnel requirements. The results showed that integrated ROV–diver operations substantially expanded operational availability compared with standalone diving, increasing deployable time by 26.4% for SSDS and 54.7% for SCUBA. During neap tides, SSDS enabled long-duration deployment, whereas SCUBA maintained operational efficiency through rapid preparation and high mobility. Under spring tide conditions, the limited diving window made the heavy-class ROV the primary platform for search, inspection, and hazard-removal tasks. In this phase-based framework, sensor-derived information from the ROV supports underwater environmental assessment, target detection, hazard identification, and decision-making on the transition between ROV operations and diver deployment. Personnel analysis further showed that actual requirements were substantially lower than arithmetic estimates and represented only 6.6–10.1% of the Sewol response workforce, indicating the feasibility of coordinated ROV–diver missions. These findings provide a quantitative basis for developing standardized procedures and integrated command structures for large-scale underwater search and rescue operations.

Corresponding author: Myounghoon Kim


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Cite this article
Woo-Dong Lee, Seongkyeong Jeong, Taeyoon Kim, Yeonjoong Kim, and Myounghoon Kim, Applicability Assessment of Integrated Heavy-class Remotely Operated Vehicle–Manned Diving Operational Frameworks: A Case Study of the Sewol Ferry Disaster, Sens. Mater., Vol. 38, No. 6, 2026, p. 3365-3390.



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