Busan City Issues Administrative Order to Implement Electronic Entry Log for Vessels Entering Gamcheon Port

Issued at 12 PM on the 19th... Strengthened Quarantine Measures Targeting Ships Arriving from 6 Countries and Russia

Busan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Busan City issued an administrative order on the 19th at 12:00 PM to introduce an electronic entry log (QR code) for all personnel entering and exiting vessels arriving at Busan Port.

This administrative order, pursuant to Article 49, Paragraph 1 of the Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Act, remains effective until it is lifted.

The order applies to all vessels departing from countries subject to strengthened quarantine measures and Russia that arrive and berth at Gamcheon Port in Busan Port from the date of the order.

This includes vessels that had previously arrived and are berthed at Gamcheon Port at the time the administrative order was issued, and also applies when vessels move to other locations for repairs or other reasons while berthed at Gamcheon Port.

Currently, the countries subject to strengthened quarantine measures are six countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and the Philippines, but this list may change depending on the situation.

So far, Busan City has consulted with related agencies such as the Busan Regional Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Office of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Busan Port Authority, Busan Customs, and the National Busan Quarantine Station regarding the specific scope of the electronic entry log introduction.

Considering that vessels with high contact intensity, such as Russian vessels, deep-sea fishing vessels, refrigerated/frozen vessels, and repair vessels, mainly arrive at Gamcheon Port, there was consensus to first introduce the electronic entry log at Gamcheon Port.

Busan City and related agencies including port and quarantine authorities are monitoring the COVID-19 situation and are also reviewing plans to gradually expand the target vessels and ports for introduction if necessary.

This administrative order imposes the obligation on the shipowners or shipping agency companies of the relevant vessels to install, operate, and manage the electronic entry log, and requires all personnel entering the vessels, including employees of ship repair companies and ship supply companies, to authenticate the electronic entry log upon boarding.

Before the full enforcement of the administrative order, shipping agencies will notify and guide foreign shipowners of the order contents for each target vessel, and considering the time needed to prepare the electronic entry log, a five-day grace period will be operated from 12:00 PM on the 19th to 12:00 PM on the 24th.

After the grace period ends, joint inspections on the implementation of the electronic entry log will be conducted. Failure to install, operate, manage, or authenticate the electronic entry log may result in a fine of up to 3 million KRW.

Kim Hyun-jae, Director of the Marine Fisheries Logistics Bureau of Busan City, stated, “This administrative order is a measure to more quickly identify personnel entering vessels where COVID-19 has occurred, improve the efficiency of quarantine activities, and prevent the spread in the local community.”

With the introduction of the electronic entry log, management of personnel entering ports and vessels is expected to be further strengthened along with the existing port access management system and customs boarding report system.

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