Korean Ministry of Maritime Affairs & Fisheries (MOMAF) in cooperation with Eastern Shipping Co., Ltd has provided us with the following information.

Risk Factor

Recently sea fog is frequently observed over the Korean waters, Heavy fog has resulted in many accidents including a multiple-vehicle on the Seohae Bridge crossing the Yellow Sea and the grounding of several fishing vessels underway.

During spring and fall, there is a high possibility of advection fog due to large daily temperature range. In particular, a stable atmosphere and unusually warm temperature experienced this fall has resulted in frequent fog.

In general, autumn fog is not as dense fog as spring fog, but it may create a dangerous climate condition, which can lead to a risk of collision or grounding for seamen who are not familiar with radarassisted navigation.

The statistics show that among 547 marine accident cases judged by KMST, approximately 26.3% (144 cases) occurred in fog.

Frequent autumn fog is expected to appear between October and November, all vessels navigating in Korea waters are advised to comply with the regulations for safety navigation when encountering sea fog.

Vessels navigating in fishing grounds are advised to pay special attention since the number of fishing vessels operating at sea is increasing during the fishing season in October.

All vessels are recommended to proceed at a safe speed so that they can take proper and effective action appropriate to the prevailing circumstances and conditions in restricted visibility.

All vessels are recommended to use the radar system to systematically monitor neighboring vessels and their location.