Strengthening Safety and Welfare Standards on Deep-Sea Fishing Vessels: "Replacing 14 Aging Ships and Introducing Mid-Term Onshore Rest Periods for Crew Members"

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Implements 'Measures to Improve Safety and Welfare of Distant-Water Fishing Vessels'

Status of Vessel Age by Offshore Fishing Industry Sector.

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The government plans to replace 14 ultra-aged distant-water fishing vessels to enhance the safety and welfare of South Korea's distant-water fishing fleet to international standards, while also introducing onshore rest periods (intermediate port calls) and shortening the boarding cycle.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 9th that it has prepared and will implement this "Distant-Water Fishing Vessel Safety and Welfare Improvement Plan" this year.

Most of South Korea's distant-water fishing vessels were built in the 1980s and 1990s, making them highly susceptible to accidents due to aging, and issues related to crew welfare have been continuously raised. Consequently, there is growing international demand for ratification of international fisheries agreements regulating vessel safety and crew welfare.

In response to these domestic and international changes in the distant-water industry environment, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has operated a Distant-Water Fishing Vessel Safety and Welfare Task Force (T/F) since April last year and gathered opinions from the industry and experts through the Distant-Water Industry Development Council and the Distant-Water Industry Development Deliberation Committee to prepare this improvement plan.

This plan is based on the vision of "comfortable and safe distant-water fishing vessels where people want to work," aiming to reduce the average age of distant-water fishing vessels, currently about 30 years, to 25 years by 2025.

First, to strengthen vessel safety, measures will be implemented by categorizing vessels into newbuilds, existing vessels, and imported replacement vessels, and preparations will be made for ratifying international agreements related to vessel safety.

For newbuild vessels, a "Distant-Water Fishing Vessel Safety Fund," funded 50% by the government and 30-40% by banks, will be established by 2023 with a scale of 170 billion KRW to resolve interest rate and collateral issues. Through this, 14 ultra-aged vessels will be replaced by newbuilds by 2023 to enhance the safety of distant-water fishing vessels.

For existing and imported replacement vessels, the introduction of a "Vessel Condition Evaluation System," which sets grades based on vessel condition at the 35-year age mark, will be considered, and inspection standards for used vessels imported from abroad will be strengthened. Additionally, preparations will be made for ratifying the "Cape Town Agreement" to apply international standards for construction and inspection related to vessel safety, and revisions to regulations concerning management and supervision of distant-water fishing vessel safety will be pursued.

Policies to improve the quality of life for crew members, such as securing minimum living conditions in accordance with international standards and introducing intermediate onshore rest periods, will also be promoted.

Investigation of Reasons for Quitting Seafarer Positions (2016).

While reviewing the ratification of international agreements related to securing living spaces on distant-water fishing vessels, management standards will be pre-established to ensure minimum crew living spaces such as bedrooms, bathrooms, and activity areas within the vessel during newbuilds. To alleviate the sense of isolation from family and society caused by long-term boarding, the introduction of onshore rest periods (intermediate port calls) and shortening of boarding cycles will be pursued.

Furthermore, to ratify the international agreement on crew working conditions (Work in Fishing Convention, C-188), research on the impact of the agreement by industry type will be conducted. Plans will also be made to prevent human rights violations against foreign crew members and international observers and to expand medical support for distant-water fishing vessels.

Woo Dong-sik, Director of International Distant-Water Policy at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, stated, "Through the Distant-Water Fishing Vessel Safety and Welfare Improvement Plan, we will steadily implement detailed tasks to enable the safety and welfare of our distant-water fishing vessels to advance to an international level."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.