Gyeonggi-do to Launch Sea Cleaning Ship in January Next Year

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province will operate a dedicated cleaning vessel responsible for collecting marine debris from the sea starting January next year.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 3rd that the construction of the 'Gyeonggi Cheongjeongho,' a vessel measuring 33 meters in length, 9 meters in width, and 140 tons in size, capable of carrying up to 9 people, equipped with a crane, large claw, and lifting net, is 70% complete. The province plans to hold the launching ceremony of the Gyeonggi Cheongjeongho in November and begin full operation from January next year.

The Gyeonggi Cheongjeongho will be docked at Jeonggok Port in Hwaseong and will conduct submerged debris collection activities within the Gyeonggi coastal waters including Gimpo, Siheung, Ansan, Hwaseong, and Pyeongtaek. It aims to operate more than 150 days annually and collect 100 to 200 tons of submerged debris.

Until now, marine debris management in the Gyeonggi coastal waters was conducted by collecting floating debris on the water surface due to the lack of a dedicated cleaning vessel equipped with equipment to lift underwater debris.

As a result, last year, 1,400 tons of floating debris were collected mainly along the coastline, and only 10 tons of submerged debris were collected as part of the artificial reef management project by outsourcing to external companies.

This year, the plan is to collect submerged and floating debris on a scale similar to last year.

In addition to marine debris collection, the Gyeonggi Cheongjeongho will also engage in disaster support activities such as typhoon damage recovery and pollution accident restoration as needed, as well as data collection activities including depth surveying and environmental baseline information gathering.

An official from the province stated, "Although it is somewhat late compared to five metropolitan local governments including Busan, Incheon, Gyeongnam, Jeonnam, and Jeonbuk that already operate dedicated marine debris cleaning vessels, we expect that deploying the cleaning vessel from next year will contribute not only to marine debris collection but also to ecosystem preservation and fishery resource protection."

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