300 rules under review for better safety aboard ships
According to Yonhap News, South Korea will review its rules from scratch from better safety aboard ships. The policy goal set by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries comes after 295 people, mostly high school students, died in the Sewol ferry sinking in April last year.
The ministry said that 800 million won (US$742,000) will be used to conduct detailed evaluations on the main sea routes around the country, with another 4 billion won to be spent on establishing new safe operational guidelines around the major ports of Ulsan, Gwangyang and Incheon that are used frequently by oil tankers and other large ships.
In addition, the maritime ministry said it will follow through on reform measures announced in September that call for the government to directly regulate safety, increase the amount of fines for rule violations from 30 million won to 1 billion won, and reduce the age of vessels that can be used as car ferries from 30 to 25 years.
All crew members will be obliged to wear uniforms, and barriers restricting companies from entering the shipping line business will be lifted in June.
To ensure that companies make a profit, which is critical for upgrading safety rules and crew training, the government will allow fuel surcharges and flexible fare rates for weekend operations.
In addition, the ministry said it will take steps to reduce the number of accidents involving fishing boats, which made up 76.7 percent of all maritime accidents in the past five years.
These steps include automatic location tracking systems, compelling crew members to wear life jackets and implementing mandatory safety instruction for people on fishing boats.
Source: Yonhap News
