High-tech patrol vessel deployed to counter illegal Chinese fishing

By Kim Tae-gyu

The government has deployed a high-tech patrol vessel, designed to efficiently tackle unauthorized Chinese fishing in Korea’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZ).

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MIFAFF) held a ceremony Wednesday to launch the ship, named Mugunghwa I, after the Korean national flower, in the southeastern port city of Busan.

The 1,258-ton patrol boat with cutting-edge technology will be responsible for guarding the nation’s coast from this month.

“We have spent a total of 15.2 billion won to build Mugunghwa I since August 2010 to reinforce our coastal protection,” MIFAFF Director Suh Seung-jin said. “The new patrol ship with a top speed of 17 knots (about 31 kilometers per hour) will help the country weed out unlawful fishing in our seas based on its leading-edge features.”

Mugunghwa I is equipped with an electric chart display indicator system, autopilot system and night-time cameras, which are not installed in most existing vessels.

In addition, an onboard rescue dingy can travel at a maximum speed of 30 knots.

“We will launch four more next-generation patrol ships by 2015, which will play a big role in dealing with illegal fishing in our territorial waters and EEZs,” Suh said.

Monitoring illegal Chinese fishing boats on Korean seas has surged as a national interest issue after a Coast Guard officer was killed by the captain of a Chinese fishing boat late last year.

The Chinese captain stabbed two of four coastguards who were attempting to stop him from fishing in Korea’s EEZ in the Yellow Sea.

Out of the two victims, a 41-year-old corporal was sent to a hospital in Incheon, west of Seoul, but he eventually died of severe organ damage, which generated a nationwide uproar.

The Seoul administration has come up with a series of measures to protect the country’s Coast Guard from attacks by illegal Chinese fishermen in Korea’s EEZs.

One of the announced steps was to launch fresh patrol vessels armed with advanced features, such as those on the Mugunghwa I.

Korea currently runs a total of 34 patrol ships to safeguard its EEZs against fishermen from other nations, mostly from China and Japan.