Doubts Raised Over Effectiveness of 'Non-Open Precision Inspection' for Fishing Vessels Unknown to Fishermen

Assemblyman Joo Chul-hyun Evaluates 9 Months of Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries' Extensive Promotion with a 7.7% Actual Usage Rate as a Failing Grade

[Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Sim Kyung-taek] Since January 1 of this year, questions have been raised about the effectiveness of the newly introduced ‘Non-Opening Precision Inspection’ for fishing vessels under 5 tons, which is conducted once every 10 years during the regular vessel inspection.

According to Joo Cheol-hyun, a member of the National Assembly’s Agriculture, Food, Rural Affairs, Oceans and Fisheries Committee (representing Yeosu City Gap, Jeollanam-do), fishing vessels under 10 tons are required to undergo a regular inspection every 10 years by opening the engine. However, starting this year, to reduce the burden on fishermen, the Non-Opening Precision Inspection was introduced for vessels under 5 tons.

According to data submitted by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to Assemblyman Joo Cheol-hyun, among 676 vessels inspected from January to the end of September this year, only 52 vessels, accounting for just 7.7%, underwent the newly introduced Non-Opening Precision Inspection, while the remaining 624 vessels, or 92.3%, received the traditional engine-opening inspection.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries revised the Enforcement Rules of the Fishing Vessel Act last September to establish the legal basis for implementing the Non-Opening Precision Inspection, and from January 1 this year, it has been widely promoted that fishermen can choose the Non-Opening Precision Inspection for vessels under 5 tons.

This change was made in response to ongoing complaints that the existing engine-opening inspection, required once every 10 years, takes a long time, incurs high costs, and sometimes causes problems with the vessel after inspection.

In fact, the engine-opening inspection requires opening all engine facilities such as the vessel’s engine, auxiliary engine, and shaft for inspection, costing between 4 million KRW and up to 20 million KRW, and taking about two weeks, which sometimes forces fishermen to give up fishing, according to field opinions.

In contrast, the Non-Opening Precision Inspection takes about 30 minutes to 4 hours and costs only about 700,000 to 1.4 million KRW, making it a revolutionary alternative that reduces the burden on fishermen compared to the engine-opening inspection.

Assemblyman Joo Cheol-hyun stated, “The fact that the Non-Opening Precision Inspection was not chosen is a policy failure,” and emphasized, “It is necessary to analyze whether the reason fishermen did not choose the Non-Opening Precision Inspection is due to lack of promotion or deficiencies in the inspection system’s content or procedures, and to prepare alternatives.”

Yeosu=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Sim Kyung-taek simkt7@asiae.co.kr

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