West Sea Coast Guard Agency Responds to 'Maritime Accidents' During Agricultural Off-Season

Frequent Ship Accidents Due to Maritime Fog from March to July

The West Sea Regional Coast Guard Agency (Chief Im Myeong-gil) has prepared marine accident prevention measures for the agricultural fog season from March to July and urged special caution in ship navigation and leisure activities.

According to the West Sea Coast Guard on the 2nd, as March arrives every year, there are many days with favorable sea weather and rising water temperatures, leading to an increase in fishing vessel operations and leisure activities such as fishing.

The West Sea Coast Guard has taken measures to prepare for and respond to maritime accidents during the farming season.
[Photo by West Sea Regional Coast Guard]

However, from March to July, fog frequently occurs due to differences in air and sea surface temperatures, and marine accidents caused by this are more frequent compared to other periods.

In fact, over the past five agricultural fog seasons, the number of occurrences of 'low visibility' with visibility below 1000 meters in the southern West Sea and southwestern South Sea was 649 times, and the number of ship accidents during this period totaled 2,101 vessels, accounting for nearly 38.6% of all ship accidents.

Accordingly, the West Sea Coast Guard has established a 'Marine Accident Preparedness and Response Plan for the Agricultural Fog Season' and decided to focus on customized management of vulnerable vessels, provision of marine safety information using various media, and establishment of a civil-military cooperation rescue system.

They plan to designate 27 areas with frequent accidents during the agricultural fog season, including the waters near Anmado to Imjado in Sinan County, the vicinity of Wando Port, and the waters near Geumo-do in Yeosu City, and promote customized management reflecting the characteristics of each area.

A representative of the West Sea Regional Coast Guard Agency urged "refraining from excessive fishing and leisure activities during adverse weather" and said, "If navigation becomes impossible due to severe fog (nongmu) or engine failure while sailing, requesting rescue from the Coast Guard and refraining from movement as much as possible will help ensure a prompt rescue."