West Sea Coast Guard Agency Refers Company to Prosecutors for Dumping Pollutants During Large Vessel Cleaning

340 Instances of Underwater Dumping of Biofouling Invasive Species and Paint

The West Sea Coast Guard's Metropolitan Investigation Unit is conducting a search and seizure of an underwater construction company that secretly dumped pollutants into the sea during the cleaning process. (Photo by West Sea Regional Coast Guard)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seo Young-seo] The West Sea Regional Maritime Police Agency has sent the CEO of an underwater construction company and others to the prosecution on charges of secretly dumping pollutants generated during the cleaning process of large vessels into the sea.

According to the West Sea Maritime Police's Metropolitan Investigation Unit on the 15th, from January to November last year, they investigated three people, including the CEO of an underwater construction company in the Busan area, on charges of polluting the marine environment by dumping pollutants generated during underwater cleaning of the bottoms of large vessels entering major domestic ports (hereinafter referred to as hull cleaning) directly into the sea without collecting them, violating the Marine Environment Management Act and the Act on the Entry and Exit of Ships. They sent the case to the prosecution on the 12th.

Some advanced maritime countries that are members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) require cleaning of the hull exterior before entry to prevent the invasion of ship-attached organisms into their own countries.

Accordingly, domestic underwater companies carry out the cleaning, and the company caught this time is accused of dumping pollutants generated during the cleaning process directly onto the seabed.

In particular, the waste generated during hull cleaning may include paint, decayed organic matter, attached organisms, and even invasive species, raising concerns about serious marine pollution and disruption of the marine ecosystem.

A West Sea Maritime Police Agency official said, “Since it has been confirmed that underwater hull cleaning work poses risks of safety accidents for divers as well as marine environmental pollution damage, we plan to expand investigations into underwater construction companies conducting hull cleaning work that differs from the permitted content.”

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