Inspections of Korean ships in Russian ports to be reduced

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs announced that inconvenience caused to Korean mariners and shipping companies by the Port State Control (PSC) in Russian ports will be significantly reduced.

This is thanks to an agreement between Korea and Russia signed at the 5th Conference on Regional Cooperation in Maritime Safety held in Moscow, Russia. Under the agreement, vessels from each nation are to be inspected only for safety, and when grave deficiencies are found in vessels after inspections PSC officers will inform the relevant authorities from the vessel's home country to consult and remedy the situation. This will relieve mariners’ fatigue and prevent unnecessary inspections from delaying ships.

In addition, passenger ships from the two nations will go though safety inspections every 6 months in order to ensure passenger safety. Korea and Russia also agreed to support each other in the IMO council member election at the 26th IMO general assembly in November in order to be jointly elected as council members for A Group and to interchange PSC officers for strengthening their human resources networks.