"Never Drink and Steer a Boat!" ... Changwon Coast Guard's Special Crackdown on Drunk Boating

From July 1 to August 21

Gyeongnam Changwon Maritime Police Station. / Photo by Se-ryeong Lee ryeong@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Se-ryeong] The Changwon Maritime Police Station in Gyeongnam will conduct a special crackdown on drunk navigation from July 1 to August 21.

With the decrease in COVID-19 cases and the lifting of social distancing, it is expected that the number of users of multi-use vessels such as water leisure equipment will increase. The crackdown aims to raise awareness among vessel operators and prevent maritime accidents.

The Changwon Maritime Police announced that they will have an advisory period from the 18th to the 30th of this month, followed by a 65-day crackdown starting from the 1st of next month.

The joint crackdown will be conducted in coordination with the Vessel Traffic Service (VTS), the control room, patrol vessels, and police stations, and will take place both at sea and on land.

The crackdown will focus on vulnerable maritime areas, considering the main fishing grounds of fishing boats, leisure equipment, tugboats, auxiliary vessels, and their main activity locations and periods.

The special crackdown targets all vessels including fishing boats, water leisure equipment, pleasure boats for boating, and ferries transporting people, vehicles, or goods to and from ports.

According to the Maritime Police, under the current Maritime Safety Act, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.03% or higher is subject to penalties for drunk navigation of general vessels.

The penalties are divided into ▲0.03~0.08% ▲0.08~0.2% ▲0.2% or higher, with imprisonment ranging from a minimum of 2 years to a maximum of 5 years, or fines between 20 million and 30 million KRW.

For leisure equipment, under the Water Leisure Safety Act, a blood alcohol concentration of 0.03% or higher results in imprisonment of up to 1 year or a fine of up to 5 million KRW.

Chief Ryu Yong-hwan said, “Drunk navigation accidents involving multi-use vessels can cause many casualties, and accidents involving hazardous material transport vessels such as supply ships and oil tankers can lead to large-scale disasters like marine pollution. We will thoroughly enforce drunk navigation crackdowns during the summer peak season to raise awareness of marine safety and do our best to prevent maritime accidents.”

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