Pukyong National University Bids Farewell to Training Ship 'Gaya-ho'... 28 Years of Marine and Fisheries Practical Training Completed

Decommissioning Ceremony on the 14th at Yongho Bay Reclamation Pier After Completing 158,000 Miles of Service

The decommissioning ceremony of Pukyong National University training ship Gayaho.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The university training ship that sailed the oceans for 28 years is retiring.

Pukyong National University (President Jang Young-soo) held a retirement ceremony for the university training ship "Gaya-ho (1737t)" on the morning of the 14th at the reclaimed pier in Yongho Bay, Busan.

Since 1993, Gaya-ho has laid the foundation for elevating Korea's fisheries capabilities to a world-class level over 28 years. To celebrate the retirement of Gaya-ho, which led international exchanges in the fisheries and marine industries and education sectors, a retirement commemorative event was held on this day.

The event was conducted in compliance with quarantine rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with only essential personnel attending. The program included an introduction of Gaya-ho’s specifications and achievements, presentation of appreciation plaques, and delivery of the retirement order.

Pukyong National University’s training ship Gaya-ho was built by Daeseon Shipbuilding and launched in 1993. Since then, it has been responsible for Pukyong National University’s deep-sea boarding training, pioneering Korea’s North Pacific distant-water fisheries.

Equipped at the time of construction with the latest observation equipment such as CTD, temperature and salinity measuring devices, scientific fish-finding devices, and fishing gear observation devices, as well as a trawl winch fishing system, Gaya-ho has sailed 2,700 days covering 158,000 miles (254,000 km). It has visited 20 cities worldwide and had 42,000 participants in boarding training.

Gaya-ho has supported not only student boarding training but also experiential programs for middle school students, global marine and fisheries explorations for foreign students, coastal and distant-water research surveys, and marine documentary filming.

Jung Tae-young, Director of Pukyong National University’s Ship Training Operation Center, said, “Gaya-ho has played a landmark role for the university by supporting educational, research, and training programs as well as external institutions’ research and exploration programs. It has conducted boarding training without any accidents.”

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