Jeju Coast Guard Launches Fire Prevention Campaign for Fishing Boats at Jeju Port

Published 25 May.2023 14:43(KST)

Jeju Maritime Police Station (Chief So Byung-yong) announced on the 25th that on the 24th, they conducted a fire prevention publicity campaign around Jeju Port in Jeju City to proactively respond to fishing vessel fire accidents due to increased fishing vessel activity with the arrival of the summer fishing season.

Jeju Maritime Police Station conducted a fire prevention publicity campaign on the 24th around Jeju Port to proactively respond to fishing vessel fire accidents due to increased fishing vessel activity with the arrival of the summer spawning season.
[Photo by Jeju Maritime Police]

In April and May of this year, there were two fishing vessel fire accidents near Chagwido Island off Jeju, and fortunately, there were no casualties due to prompt action. However, in July last year, six fishing vessels were completely destroyed in fire accidents at Hallim and Seongsan ports, resulting in three serious injuries and two deaths, raising concerns about safety negligence regarding fire accidents.

Jeju Maritime Police noted that although there is a risk of fire in the winter season, recently, fire accidents have frequently occurred on moored vessels and vessels working onboard during bad weather such as typhoons in the summer. They plan to conduct a total of six sessions centered around Jeju Port and Hallim Port from the day before until next Friday.

Additionally, for coastal fishing vessels and fishing boats, which have a high probability of casualties in case of fire, pre-departure inspections will be conducted along with proactive fire prevention education for captains and crew on initial response to accidents and notifying local police stations before onboard work to raise safety awareness.

A Jeju Maritime Police official said, “While pre-departure inspections are important for vessel fire accidents, the damage caused by chain fire accidents on moored vessels is very significant. Therefore, we ask for the active interest and participation of fishery workers in operating a minimum crew watch system onboard during sheltering due to bad weather, notifying local police stations before onboard work while moored, and placing fire extinguishers nearby.”