Crew Members of Russian Ship Involved in Cluster Infection Disembark Unauthorizedly and Roam Security Zone

It has been confirmed that Naeun Ki-go did not recognize the fact regarding port security.

The government has decided to implement "boarding quarantine," where quarantine officers will board and inspect all Russian-flagged vessels arriving at Busan Port starting from the 24th, to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] It has been confirmed that a Russian ship crew member who tested positive for the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) disembarked without permission and came into contact with crew members of another ship, but the port security agency failed to detect this fact.

The Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters announced on the 25th that it was confirmed that a crew member of the Russian ship "Ice Stream," where a cluster infection of 16 COVID-19 cases occurred on the 22nd, disembarked without permission after entering Busan Gamcheon Port and came into contact with crew members of the Ice Crystal ship, which belongs to the same shipping company.

As a result, on the 23rd, one crew member of the Ice Crystal also tested positive, and the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the Russian ship cluster infection is currently 17.

Crew members must obtain a landing permit to disembark, and customs approval is additionally required when moving ships, but it was confirmed that the crew member did not receive any related permission when disembarking.

The problem lies in the fact that the Busan Port Security Corporation, responsible for security at Busan Port, did not detect this fact.

In response, the Busan Port Security Corporation explained that because there are almost no cases of illegal entry on Russian ships, they did not designate these ships as "vessels of concern" and therefore failed to detect the situation.

"Vessels of concern" are ships that the security corporation independently designates if there have been past security incidents, visits to North Korea, or if crew members with frequent illegal entry history are on board. Ships designated as vessels of concern are monitored closely by the security corporation 24 hours a day.

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