Korea Shipping Association Creates Safety Navigation Manual for Hormuz Strait

[Asia Economy Reporter Dongwoo Lee] The Korea Shipping Association recently announced on the 9th that it has produced and distributed a "Manual for Navigational Safety of Vessels Passing through the Strait of Hormuz" to its member companies to ensure the safe navigation of Korean vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, all countries' vessels are guaranteed the right of innocent passage within territorial waters and freedom of navigation on the high seas. However, on January 4th, a Korean-flagged petrochemical carrier, the "Korea Chemi," was seized by Iran in the high seas of the Strait of Hormuz, delivering a significant shock to the global shipping industry.

In response, the Korea Shipping Association prepared guidelines to provide measures that allow Korean crew members and vessels to secure safety while responding reasonably and easily in stages to situations where armed forces attempt to board or seize vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

The newly distributed manual was organized by referencing the "Navigational Safety Measures Guidelines for Vessels Passing through the Strait of Hormuz" issued by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and materials distributed by the U.S. Maritime Administration, tailoring them to the realities faced by Korean vessels and crew.

According to the manual, responses for vessels navigating near the Strait of Hormuz are categorized by stages: ▲ safety measures before entering the strait ▲ response measures during navigation through the strait ▲ response measures when approached or requested to stop by Iranian armed forces ▲ response measures when Iranian armed forces board the vessel, enabling vessels to respond according to the situation.

Kim Young-moo, Executive Vice President of the Korea Shipping Association, stated, "We urge member companies to actively utilize this manual when navigating the strait to ensure that no incidents of vessel seizure occur."

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