Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority to take over operations next year; integrated reserve vessel management to strengthen maritime services for island residents

This image is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]
This image is unrelated to the article. [Getty Images Bank]

South Korea will transfer the operation of public ferry routes from private shipping companies to a public institution, with the government beginning preparations for the transition ahead of its scheduled implementation next year.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries announced Sunday that it will revise subordinate regulations and prepare for the operational shift after an amendment to the Shipping Act — mandating that public ferry routes be entrusted to a public institution — cleared the National Assembly last month.

The amendment renames what are currently called "state-subsidized routes" as "public routes" and replaces the existing private-operator franchise system with a public institution management framework. The changes take effect Jan. 1 next year.

Under the new arrangement, the Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority will assume responsibility for operating the public routes. The ministry plans to revise subordinate regulations to spell out the terms of the entrustment, as well as vessel operation and fleet management procedures.

The ministry will also prepare to issue a license to the authority and conclude a management contract with it, while monitoring the retirement and re-employment process for crew members currently working for private operators on those routes.

The authority launched a public route operations task force Sunday, headed by its president.

The task force will develop route-specific operation and management plans, draw up reserve vessel deployment schedules, and establish safety management systems covering vessels, crew and passengers. It will also conduct advance safety inspections of the ships to be transferred to the authority.

The task force will also visit operating sites to gather input from existing operators and local residents, and to assess the characteristics of each route and any operational considerations specific to it.

The ministry expects that having the authority directly manage the public routes will raise vessel safety standards and improve operational reliability.

In particular, the authority's nationwide oversight will allow reserve vessels funded by the national treasury to be managed as a single integrated pool, enabling rapid deployment to any route that experiences a service disruption.

"Entrusting public routes to a public institution is a systemic shift that strengthens the state's role in guaranteeing island residents' basic right to maritime transportation," Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Hwang Jong-woo said. "The government and public institutions will take direct responsibility and provide support to ensure that basic maritime transportation rights are protected more robustly."


adastra@heraldcorp.com