Coast Guard Headquarters Detains 635 Marine Safety Violators... 'Failure to Undergo Safety Inspection' Most Common

The Korea Coast Guard announced on the 17th that it has arrested 635 individuals over a three-month period since March in a special crackdown on marine safety violations.

The Coast Guard intensified enforcement as recent ship accidents have continued to occur, and acts threatening public safety at sea, such as passengers exceeding the allowed number on cargo ships like vehicle transport vessels, have repeatedly taken place.

By type of violation, failure to undergo safety inspections accounted for the largest number with 220 cases (35%), followed by unlicensed (unregistered) operation with 119 cases (19%), overloading and overboarding with 67 cases (10.7%), and illegal modifications and expansions with 60 cases (9.6%).

The Coast Guard is cracking down on maritime safety threat activities targeting vessels docked at Dadaepo Port in Busan. March 22, 2024.
[Photo by Busan Coast Guard]

In particular, cases with a high likelihood of ship accidents were mainly detected, such as operating cargo ships without properly securing vehicles, exceeding the maximum number of passengers allowed on board, and operating without undergoing inspections.

A Coast Guard official stated, "We plan to continue cracking down on acts that threaten marine safety," and urged, "We ask maritime workers and related industries to strictly comply with regulations to create a safe sea environment."