Domestic Buoys
Guide Ships on Waters Off Sinan
By Park Si-soo, Shim Hyun-chul
Staff Reporters
SINAN, NORTH JEOLLA PROVINCE ― Domestically produced weather buoys made their debut here last week, making South Korea one of a few countries with the technology to produce the sophisticated guiding beacons in the ocean.
Experts say the ``Made-in-Korea'' buoy is very competitive in terms of price, meaning South Korea has the potential to become a major buoy exporter in the near future.
The Korea Meteorological Administration installed two buoys in waters off Sinan, South Jeolla Province, on April 22.
They will analyze wave height, water temperature, and other maritime conditions. The results will be transmitted to the weather agency every hour, helping the agency forecast weather and maritime conditions more accurately.
``We expect people in the coastal town to benefit from the gadgets as well since they'll serve as a beacon for those using water transportation and fishing,'' the administration said in a statement.
The drifting-style buoy was developed earlier this year after an 18-month-long development project jointly run by the National Institute of Meteorological Research and a private developer, OCEAN ENG. The Small and Medium Business Administration funded the project.
It said prices of a foreign-developed buoy range from 40 million to 50 million won ($29,600 to 37,000). ``Ours cost roughly half that,'' an administration spokesman said.
