Efforts to move the retrieved Sewol ferry onshore faced difficulties Thursday as engineers failed to load the wreck, heavier than originally expected, on transporters Thursday, delaying further search operations.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said that it encountered some technical problems with modular trailers placed underneath the ferry.

“We ran a test operation to carry the ferry on 480 transport trailers until this morning, but found technical problems that we need to check before giving it another try,” Lee Cheol-jo, the head of the government-led operation team, told reporters.

The ministry plans to relocate the transporters and try again before April 10, when the first neap tide of the month ends.

The unfavorable weather conditions on Thursday morning, with waves as high as 3.1 meters, also hampered the underwater search of the wreck site, the ministry added.

The ministry said it began a second round of test operations at around 2:15 p.m., while the result has not come out as of Thursday 5 p.m.

Sewol, which sank in waters off Jindo in 2014, is currently on board a semisubmersible transport vessel at Mokpo Port, waiting to be moved to a dry dock for a search of its interior.

The nation’s worst maritime accident left 295 dead, mostly high school students on a school trip. Nine are still unaccounted for.

Although some experts cautioned that the ferry is too heavy to move with modular trailers, the ministry said it will not utilize extra trailers for the time being.

Currently, some 480 units of transporters are deployed to make a loading platform for Sewol. Each can carry up to 40 tons.

The wreck, originally an 8,000-8,500-ton vessel, is estimated to weigh about 14,500 tons, with seawater and mud inside.

Since the Sewol arrived at Mokpo last week, operators have been draining water and mud from the hull in order to reduce the overall weight.

In case the operation is delayed again, the ministry is considering to begin a search for missing bodies inside without placing the ferry on land, with the consent of bereaved families and the special investigation committee.

As of Thursday, a total of 101 items presumed to belong to the passengers on Sewol have been retrieved from the wreck, the ministry said.

By Kim Da-sol (ddd@heraldcorp.com)