'육상용 소화기' Use Now Allowed on Fishing Vessels as Well

[Sejong=Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] From now on, coastal fishing vessels will be able to use land-based fire extinguishers that are commonly used onshore. Until now, only fire extinguishers specifically designed for fishing vessels could be used due to the unique conditions at sea.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 30th that it has revised three administrative regulations related to the Fishing Vessel Act to improve convenience for fishermen and ensure the safety of fishing vessels through reasonable regulatory improvements. These revisions will be announced and enforced starting from the 3rd of next month.

Until now, fishing vessels have been subject to separate facility standards due to the special conditions of being constantly exposed to salt, moisture, and sunlight, and being isolated at sea for extended periods away from land. However, there have been continuous calls for revising these standards to reflect the realities of the fishing industry and to make them more effective.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries commissioned the Korea Fire Institute (KFI) to conduct performance tests on fire extinguishers to verify the usability of land-based fire extinguishers at sea. The test results confirmed no issues in all aspects. Based on this, the administrative regulations were revised to allow the use of land-based fire extinguishers, which are cheaper and more readily available than fishing vessel-specific extinguishers, on coastal fishing vessels. However, only powder fire extinguishers that have passed safety verification and obtained the Korea Certification Mark (KC) can be used at sea.

Additionally, the category of "fishing vessel life-saving clothing" that fishermen can wear instead of work clothes during operations has been expanded to include one-piece sets (long pants and shorts) in addition to the existing outerwear types (long-sleeve, short-sleeve, and vest types).

Since the old distress signaling system has been replaced by advanced equipment, the obligation to carry signal flares (four rocket parachute signals and one self-igniting signal) on small fishing vessels under 10 tons has been removed.

Along with this, based on a survey of the height of navigation lights by industry and tonnage, the standards for navigation light height have been relaxed to better reflect actual conditions. The types and number of lights remain unchanged, but the placement of navigation lights is adjusted according to the size of the fishing vessel within the range where the type of light can be identified.