Mokpo Coast Guard Cracks Down on Ship Fuel Oil and Dust Emission Sites

Joint Inspection Team Formed to Verify Compliance with Fine Dust Reduction Measures

Mokpo Maritime Police Station (Chief Kwon Oh-seong) will inspect compliance with fine dust reduction measures at ship fuel oil and dust-generating workplaces for four months until March 31 next year.

According to Mokpo Maritime Police on the 3rd, this inspection is conducted to verify whether fine dust reduction measures are properly implemented at ships and ports in accordance with the government's 6th Seasonal Fine Dust Management Plan.

Mokpo Coast Guard is inspecting the port cement unloading facility. Photo by Mokpo Coast Guard Station

The Seasonal Fine Dust Management Plan is a fine dust reduction measure implemented by the Ministry of Environment along with related ministries, local governments, and public institutions from December 1, when fine dust concentration increases annually, to March 31 of the following year, based on the Special Act on the Reduction and Management of Fine Dust.

Mokpo Maritime Police will focus on inspecting whether the sulfur content in fuel oil used by ships such as oil tankers and cargo ships operating domestically and internationally meets the standards. The sulfur content standard for fuel oil in general sea areas is 0.5% for heavy oil and 0.05% for diesel for domestic navigation ships, and 0.5% or less for both heavy oil and diesel for international navigation ships.

They also plan to crack down on illegal emissions of air pollutants such as illegal incineration onboard. For the targeted ships, they will check emissions of nitrogen oxides and ozone-depleting substances, and form a joint inspection team with Mokpo Maritime Fisheries Office and local governments to crack down on dust-generating port cargo handling facilities.

A Mokpo Maritime Police official said, “We ask all ship workers to implement proper equipment and procedures that meet the standards so that we can reduce fine dust generated at sea and leave a clean environment for future generations.”