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 The Korea Coast Guard announced on Tuesday that it has improved its VTS function to prevent marine accidents by issuing warnings in the event of ships going off course or speeding. According to the marine accident statistics over the past five years, 569 accidents have occurred due to off-course or speeding, which is steadily occurring every year.
In order to monitor ships that are going off course and speeding, the current ship traffic control system* also has an alarm function. However, due to the lack of accuracy and the generation of a large number of alarms, the level of utilization at the control site was low.
In particular, according to a survey of ship traffic controllers nationwide, 55.8 percent (227 respondents) answered that they need to improve the navigation and speed warning functions of the ship traffic control system. In order to solve these problems, data such as the gross tonnage, length, and type of ship, which are applicable standards of the regulations on shipping routes and speed limits, are required.
Accordingly, the Korea Coast Guard has improved its system by using ship data owned by other insti tutions such as the Port-MIS to select only ships that violate legal routes and speed limits and issue accu rate warnings. In the case of a vessel violating the speed limit or route, the controller instructs the vessel to comply with the route by radio communication, and the maritime police vessel will crack down on the site.
The improved ship traffic control system will be applied to the ship traffic control system in Busan Port, which has the largest volume of ship traffic nationwide, starting Dec. 14. An official of the Korea Coast Guard said, "This project will help ship traffic controllers receive accurate warnings and ensure safe operation of ships.
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