At Night Scuba Diving, One Safety Supervisor Must Accompany Every Five Participants

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Enacts 'Underwater Leisure Safety Management Regulations' and Revises 'Underwater Leisure Act Enforcement Rules'

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] In the future, when engaging in underwater leisure activities at night, at least one safety management personnel must accompany every five participants to enable emergency response in case of an emergency.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 27th that it has established underwater leisure safety management regulations containing these provisions and amended the Act on the Safety and Promotion of Underwater Leisure Activities.

First, underwater leisure operators must inspect their own underwater leisure equipment, devices, and facilities quarterly, and immediately repair or replace them if any abnormalities are found. Additionally, the safety inspection checklist created during the inspection must be kept for two years after its preparation.

When engaging in underwater leisure activities at night, at least one safety management personnel must accompany every five participants to enable emergency response in case of an emergency, and participants must wear luminous vests or bands or attach luminous devices so that their location on the water surface can be easily identified at night.

A method to recognize safety education provided by professional private underwater leisure education organizations has also been established. Underwater leisure workers are required to complete underwater leisure-related education. Previously, due to the lack of specific methods to recognize education from private underwater leisure education organizations, only education from institutions designated under the Coastal Accident Prevention Act could be received. However, going forward, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries expects that recognizing education provided by professional private underwater leisure education organizations will make it easier for underwater leisure workers to receive training.

The amendment to the enforcement rules of the Underwater Leisure Act expanded the scope of allowable luminous devices to include small LED lights, considering that luminous vests and bands required to be worn during nighttime underwater leisure activities are difficult to obtain in the market.

The underwater leisure safety management regulations were created based on the enforcement decree and enforcement rules of the Underwater Leisure Act. After completing administrative notice from the 28th of last month to the 19th of this month, the regulations were promulgated on the 27th and will take effect on April 26. The amendment to the enforcement rules of the Underwater Leisure Act will take effect immediately upon its promulgation on March 27.

Kim Tae-kyung, Director of the Marine Leisure Tourism Division at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "We expect that the establishment of underwater leisure safety management regulations and related legal amendments will create conditions for safe underwater leisure activities and, based on this, activate the underwater leisure industry. We will actively promote the newly established and amended provisions to ensure they are promptly reflected in the field."

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