This Fall, Focused Management on Frequent Marine Accident Types, Adverse Weather, and COVID-19 Vulnerabilities

Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Prepares 'Autumn Marine Accident Prevention Measures'

[Asia Economy Reporter Joo Sang-don] The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced on the 30th that it will implement the "Autumn Marine Accident Prevention Measures" from next month 1st to November 30th, in cooperation with related organizations such as the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority, to strengthen marine safety this fall and prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) through ships.

Autumn is a period when fishing vessel operations increase, and the frequency of coastal passenger ship operations also rises due to the Chuseok holiday. Additionally, weather changes such as typhoons occur frequently, making it a high-risk period for marine accidents. In fact, statistics from the past five years (2015?2019) show that the most casualties from marine accidents occurred during the autumn season.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has established autumn marine accident prevention measures to focus on managing the types of accidents that frequently occur in ship types with heavy autumn operations, strengthen safety management of ships and facilities during adverse weather, and steadily promote COVID-19 prevention and the establishment of a safety culture on site.

First, the three major ship types with frequent operations will be intensively managed according to the types of frequent accidents. For fishing vessels, to prevent accidents during operations such as getting caught in hauling machines, joint industrial safety guidance and inspections will be conducted with related organizations including the Ministry of Employment and Labor, and prevention guidelines (manuals) for each type of accident will be distributed and guided on site.

For coastal passenger ships and multi-use vessels such as leisure and marina ships, since casualties can be severe in case of accidents, safety inspections will be conducted with greater care. Special safety inspections will be carried out on all 162 coastal passenger ships, and thorough checks will be made on the newly established marina ship entry and exit record management and the compliance with passenger boarding report preparation and submission obligations to strictly ensure passenger safety.

For hazardous material carriers, as the frequency of accidents due to fire and collision is high, the use of explosion-proof devices in explosion risk zones on ships will be made mandatory, and compliance with safe work procedures will be intensively inspected. In addition, with the start of distribution of e-navigation ship terminals (equipped with collision automatic prediction alarm functions), virtual reality (VR) training to prevent collisions between cargo ships and fishing vessels will also be promoted.

Proactive responses will be taken when adverse weather is expected. When adverse weather is forecasted, real-time accident and weather information will be promptly provided to workers such as fishermen through the Fisheries Cooperative's Operation Information Notifier app. Furthermore, under the "Fishing Vessel Safety Operation Act" enforced from the 28th, enhanced fishing vessel location reporting obligations will be strictly followed during storm and typhoon warnings to strengthen safety management. Prior safety inspections of port and fishing harbor facilities will be conducted before typhoons to manage risk factors in advance, and continuous safety management checks will be carried out on hazardous material handling facilities, including inspection of fire extinguishing equipment, replacement of old fire extinguishers, and updating of self-safety management plans.

Measures to prepare for prolonged infectious disease situations and establish a safety culture on site will also be promoted. To prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection at sea, strict management will be focused on ensuring compliance with COVID-19 prevention guidelines on ships (such as passenger ships) and multi-use facilities (such as passenger terminals), including mask-wearing, provision of hand sanitizers, and disinfection inside ships. Additionally, plans to expand remote ship inspections, currently implemented mainly for ocean-going vessels, to domestic vessels will be reviewed and pursued.

Jung Tae-sung, Director of the Maritime Safety Policy Division at the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, said, "Accidents arise from moments of carelessness, so we will prioritize safety and not neglect any part," and added, "Based on an organic response system with related organizations, we will actively implement the prevention measures prepared this time."