• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.408-418
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• 2022

Marine accidents involving the entanglement of marine litter have continued to increase, with over 300 to 400 cases per year according to the statistical agency. Entanglement of marine litter may also lead to large-scale marine accidents which cause capsizing and sinking, thereby further causing detrimental casualties and material damages, and thus exceptional attention and care are required. In this study, Incheon, Busan, and Geoje and Tongyeong were found to be the high-frequency locations for accidents, which were selected by considering the ArcGIS analysis about the marine accidents of entanglement of marine litter and the occurrence frequency by the standard. The characteristics of the multiple accident areas involving entanglement of marine litter were the coastal cities where fishing facilities or marine leisure related conditions were activated, with the port which handles much of the traffic of outbound and inbound vessels located nearby. Marine plastic pollution impacts not only the marine ecosystem and food chain, but also the hull and engine of ships, and may further pose threats to the safety of vessels and crews. It is necessary to find a common link between the relevant areas and to strive to remove the root causes of marine accidents by reducing marine litter.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.263-273
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• 2015

We estimated the global inflow and stock of plastic marine debris. In South Korea, we estimated that the annual inflow of plastic marine debris (72,956 tons) was about 1.4% of annual plastics consumption (5.2 million tons) in 2012. By applying this 1.4% ratio to global plastics production from 1950 to 2013, we estimated that 4.2 million tons of plastic debris entered the ocean in 2013 and that there is a stock of 86 million tons of plastic marine debris as of the end of 2013, assuming zero outflow. In addition, with a logistic model, if 4% of petroleum is turned into plastics, the final stock of plastic marine debris shall be 199 million tons at the end. As the inflow and the stock are different units of measurement, better indicators to assess the effectiveness of inflow-reducing policies are needed. And, as the pollution from plastic marine debris is almost irreversible, countermeasures to prevent it should be valued more, and stronger preventive measures should be taken under the precautionary principle. As this is a preliminary study based on limited information, further research is needed to clarify the tendency of inflow and stock of plastic marine debris.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.27 no.7
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• pp.967-976
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• 2021

Over the last ten years, the number of entanglement marine accidents has increased more than other accident types. This study analyzed the annual statistical report of marine accidents from the Korea Maritime Safety Tribunal and Korea Coast Guard. Despite some discrepancies between data of the two organizations, it was found that marine accidents involving fishing vessels were more prevalent than those involving non-fishing vessels. In addition, the main floating materials that caused wounded entanglement accidents were fishing nets, fishing gear, and ropes, and the proportion of them was high. Foreign and domestic policies on marine plastics recognize most marine plastics as marine environmental hazards and focus on marine litter recovery and the prevention of marine pollution. The representative Acts related to the marine environment and marine litter, the Marine Environment Management Act and the Marine Waste and Sediments Management Act, recognize marine litter as a type of marine waste, and deal with the types and definition of this waste. However, clearly defining marine waste is difficult. Therefore, this study tried to examine the relevant legal system of marine litter on ship operation and suggested improvement measures. Moreover, the definition of marine litter for the safe navigation and operation of ships was clearly proposed.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.45-49
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• 2015

Disturbance to marine wildlife is a serious negative impact of marine debris. In this study, the percentages of Black-faced Spoonbill nests that included plastic marine debris were calculated from surveys conducted on an islet named Suhaam off the western coast of South Korea. The percentages of nests including plastic decreased from 71% in 2010 to 37% in 2011 to 33% in 2012. The total number of nests increased from 28 in 2010 to 38 in 2011 to 43 in 2012. These differences in nests and nesting materials were possibly due to natural nesting materials such as tree branches and rice straws that were provided at the breeding site as a protective action in 2011 and 2012. Additional conservation efforts should be made to prevent further negative impacts from marine debris.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Fisheries and Ocean Technology
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• v.53 no.4
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• pp.437-445
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• 2017

Distribution and composition of the seabed litters in the exclusive economic zone of the West Sea of South Korea including 18 sea-blocks were investigated using a bottom trawl gear of the R/V Tamgtu 20 (National Institute of Fisheries Science) from 24th April 2011 to 4th May 2012. Each trawl shot was conducted for an hour in each sea-block and the total trawl shots was 18. As a result, 325.6 kg of seabed litter in total has been collected. The quantity of the seabed litter was highest at No. 202 of the sea-block, close to the Heuksan-Do. The highest occupied sea material was plastic (83.1% of entire seabed litters), the second highest material was metal combined with plastic (10.6%), and glass (2.9%), metals (2.3%), vinyl (0.6%), cloth (0.4%) and wood (0.2%) in order. The origin of seabed litters was from fishing gear (89.0% of all seabed litters). Therefore, it could be assumed that most seabed litters were derived from the fishing activity for example fishing nets and ropes.

• The monthly packaging world
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• s.360
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• pp.67-73
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• 2023

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.150-159
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• 2008

The marine litter generated as by-products of human activities and economic development enters to the sea through rivers or stream Indirectly, and through sea-based activities directly. It is commonly comprised of materials that degrade very slowly, such as various plastic products, polystyrene, glass, rubber, metal, wood, derelict fishing nets, wire, rope and so on. Such litter is found in the water column and on the seafloor as well as coastal areas In the Northwest Pacific region. It causes injury or death of human and other living organisms and also accident or damage of the vessel. It is not only a problem of country but also regional and/or global problem because it is transported by currents and winds from one country to another. In this regard, Northwest Pacific Action Plan (NOWPAP) Marine Litter Activity (MALITA) project had been carried out during 2006-2007 biennium and NOWPAP Regional Action Plan on Marine Litter (RAP MALI) has been also continuously implemented in the 2008-2009 biennium as next phase step of MALITA. MERRAC, one of four Regional Activity Centres (RACs) of NOWPAP, has developed monitoring guidelines, sectoral guidelines, and brochures related to sea-based marine litter and port reception facilities and services through MALITA project. Based upon these output, MERRAC will continuously implement relevant activities of RAP MALI in order to help to establish and improve a regional mechanism to deal with the sea-based marine litter problem. This paper aims to introduce MERRAC activities under MALITA and RAP MALI, and to suggest several recommendations to reduce marine litter in the NOWPAP region.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Marine Environment & Energy
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.104-115
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• 2014

Abundance and composition of marine debris on 13 beaches of Tongyeong City, South Korea were surveyed in 2013 Autumn. The average quantity of macro debris (>25 mm) was about 30 particle/$m^2$ and that of micro debris (1 mm-25 mm) was about 26,971 particle/$m^2$. This is a very high level compared with other areas of South Korea and the other countries. Among the 7 material types of debris (styrofoam, hard plastic, fiber, metal, glass, wood and others), styrofoam composed a large portion: 75% of macro debris and 98% of micro debris. And among the 'whole' styrofoam debris items whose original volume is remained more than 50%, styrofoam buoy debris composed 93%. This result suggests that the beaches surveyed are seriously contaminated by marine debris, and most of its sources are aquaculture styrofoam buoys. Management of styrofoam buoy debris used for oyster aquaculture in Tongyeong City is important not only for Tongyeong city, but also for other areas, because Tongyeong city hosts the biggest number of oyster aquaculture areas in South Korea.

• Journal of Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.236-243
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• 2006

A series of surveys are performed to evaluate the abundance, composition and distribution of marine debris on the sea bed around the Busan port. In order to set up a master plan for the marine environmental pollution the relevant maritime authority must understand how many and w㏊t kinds of marine litters are distributed on the sea bed. At first we planed to survey areas divided regularly according to the coast line but there were many sea going vessels and fishing boats. So we selected and surveyed the around area where there were no sea going vessels or fishing boats.The obtained results are as follows: 1. The mean values of litters in number and weight are 5.8 pieces/㏊. and 3.5㎏/㏊. respectively. 2. The highest density in terms of number are vinyl and plastic item, and in weight are fishing gear and ship articles. 3. The nearer to the shore we surveyed the more we collected in terms of the density of marine litters in number and in weight per hectare. 4. Eel pot, oiled waste, rope, others, other pot and net of fishing gear litters in number were 59.9, 22.7, 7.9, 4.5, 3.1 and 1.9% respectively. 5. There is no relationship between the amount of fish caught and the amount of marine debris.

• Journal of Navigation and Port Research
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.331-337
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• 2022

In 2021, the Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environmental Protection (GESAMP), a U.N. advisory research institute, cited container loss as one of six sources of marine litters in shipping. The sinking of the X-P ress Pearl in May 2021 caused a catastrophic environmental pollution accident in which the loaded containers were moved to the shore, and the plastic pellets were loaded inside covered the coast of Sri Lanka. With this history, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) will discuss prevention and follow-up measures for container loss during ship voyages, as an agenda at the 8th Sub Committee on Carriage of Cargoes and Containers meeting in September 2022. To establish Korea's response direction at the IMO meeting, this study identified major causes of container loss accidents, and considered the response through analysis based on the accident investigation report and related professional data. As a result, it was found that the major cause of container loss during voyages was the enlargement of container ships, bad weather, and poor loading of containers. In particular, the need to prepare countermeasures for the deterioration of the operational safety of large container ships due to bad weather was identified. Additionally, integrated monitoring of the implementation of international conventions is required, for the safe sea transportation of container cargo. In particular, in terms of preservation of the marine environment, it is necessary to supplement the system for the recovery of lost containers. Finally, it was found that it is necessary to establish systems that can complement each other in the shipbuilding and shipping industries, in terms of shipbuilding as well as ship operation, to fundamentally prevent container loss accidents at sea. It is judged that it is difficult to resolve the various factors of container loss at sea during voyages, by responding from an individual perspective.