State project launched to develop personal location call device for troubled fishermen

By Lim Chang-won Posted : July 27, 2021, 14:12 Updated : July 27, 2021, 14:12

[Courtesy of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries]

SEOUL -- South Korea will develop a personal location call device to quickly rescue fishing sailors when they are in distress at sea due to collision, fire and other marine accidents. It will be developed in various forms such as watches, necklaces, or a type attached to life vests so that troubled fishermen can conveniently and effectively use personal location transmitters in an emergency situation and send locations automatically through water sensors or manually.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said it would complete the development of a personal location tracking device by the end of 2021 and supply it from 2023. The ministry would develop an inexpensive device connected to public maritime communication networks so that it can be used in wide seas without extra expenses.

"Since there are no witnesses due to the nature of the sea, it has been difficult to recognize an accident and search for and rescue missing fishermen," Ahn Yong-woon, a director at the ministry's maritime safety policy department, said in a statement on July 27, adding the new device would expedite quick rescue operations.

The location of fishing boats could be checked through a built-in distress signal transmitter, but it took a lot of time and costs to rescue missing or troubled sailors in the offing because their exact location was unknown. A commercialized private location transmitter is available, but radio waves are not reached to fishing boats that operate from a long distance. Private location transmitters using satellites are expensive.
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