'Unreported Hazardous Material Containers' Joint Investigation by Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and Korea Customs Service

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[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Customs Service announced on the 13th that they plan to establish a 'Unreported Hazardous Container Identification System' by April this year and conduct joint inspections to eradicate unreported hazardous containers in imports.

Hazardous containers require safety management such as storing them in moisture-free and well-ventilated places or maintaining certain distances between hazardous materials according to the characteristics of the cargo. However, if hazardous containers are falsely declared as general cargo and safety management is not properly implemented, fire and explosion accidents caused by chemical reactions may occur. In fact, in May last year, a fire and explosion accident caused by hazardous cargo suspected to be an unreported hazardous container occurred on a Korean container ship docked at a port in Thailand. As a result, the ship was scrapped, and the port was unable to operate normally for some time, causing damage. Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Customs Service have decided to cooperate to eradicate unreported hazardous containers in imports.

First, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to establish a computerized system by April this year that automatically identifies hazardous containers suspected of being unreported. This system will identify unreported suspected hazardous containers by comparing hazardous material information, which must be reported to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries when hazardous materials enter the port area, with import customs cargo information reported to the Korea Customs Service. For hazardous containers suspected of being unreported, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Korea Customs Service will jointly conduct container opening inspections to thoroughly check whether hazardous materials have been reported and the condition of cargo stowage and securing.

In addition, to eradicate the deliberate smuggling of hazardous containers disguised as general cargo by foreign shippers into Korea, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries plans to share information on unreported hazardous containers with export country government agencies and strengthen intergovernmental cooperation through bilateral meetings and international seminars.

Kim Min-jong, Director of the Maritime Safety Bureau at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "Through the unreported hazardous container identification system and joint inspections with the Korea Customs Service, we will ensure that reporting on the import of hazardous materials is thoroughly carried out," adding, "We expect these measures to help prevent ship fires and explosion accidents caused by unreported hazardous containers."

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