Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Implements 'Spring Marine Traffic Safety Measures'... Focused Inspection on Accident Factors

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 26th that it will implement the 'Spring Marine Traffic Safety Measures' for three months from March 1 to May 31.

During spring, the volume of ship traffic increases due to passengers traveling for leisure, and fishing activities also increase due to the fishing season. According to marine accident statistics over the past five years (2015?2019), the number of marine accidents in spring is not higher than in other seasons; however, the proportion of casualties from ship collisions caused by fog and other factors is relatively high.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has prepared and is promoting spring marine traffic safety measures to prevent vulnerable accidents through focused inspections of accident causes in spring, and to prevent serious accidents on passenger ships, fishing boats, and hazardous materials carriers, which are widely used by the public and have high accident damage.

First, to prevent collision accidents that frequently occur in spring, strict departure controls will be enforced during bad weather, navigation equipment (radar, foghorn, etc.) maintenance and repair status will be inspected, and it will be checked whether ship operators clearly understand how to operate navigation equipment and how to navigate in fog. Additionally, to prevent engine failures on small vessels, free inspection, repair, and parts replacement services for engines and electrical equipment will be provided.

Furthermore, to prevent serious accidents, joint public-private inspections will be conducted on navigation equipment, communication, lifesaving, and firefighting facilities of passenger ships, fishing boats, and other multi-use vessels. In particular, compliance with recently strengthened safety standards for fishing boats will be checked, and to prevent explosion accidents on hazardous materials carriers, the mandatory use of explosion-proof devices will be expanded, and more detailed cargo hold isolation guidelines will be distributed to prevent mixed reactions of cargo, thereby strengthening safety management of hazardous materials carriers.

Along with this, to ensure rapid response and minimize damage in the event of a major accident, a 24-hour situation monitoring, reporting, and communication system will be maintained, and a shared system of rescue agencies and ship plans will be established to enable quick boarding and rescue in emergencies on passenger ships.

In addition, unannounced inspections will be conducted on passenger ships and cargo ships to comprehensively check the safety status of vessels, and any identified issues will be immediately addressed.

Jung Tae-sung, Director of the Maritime Safety Policy Division at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "To prevent marine accidents in spring, ship workers should thoroughly check the engine condition before departure and maintain strict vigilance and ship position confirmation during navigation," adding, "Especially, it is important to be fully familiar with emergency response procedures to respond quickly in case of an accident."

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