• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.28 no.4
• /
• pp.533-541
• /
• 2022

An analysis of marine accidents that occurred in the last five years, revealed that 77.0 % of all grounding accidents and 66.1% of all marine casualties involved small vessels, which was a very high level relatively. The Mokpo Regional Maritime Safety Tribunal (Mokpo-KMST) inquired on 72 cases of marine accidents in 2021, of which 10 cases were grounding accidents. Furthermore, eight cases of grounding accidents occurred in small fishing vessels. This study analyzed eight cases of grounding accidents on small fishing vessels that inquired in the jurisdictional area of Mokpo-KMST in 2021. I found out that this grounding occurred in clear weather with good visibility (2-4 miles) and good sea conditions with a wave height of less than 1 meter. Furthermore, I found that the main causes of grounding were drowsy navigation due to fatigue, neglect of vigilance, neglect of checking ship's position, overconfidence in GPS plotter, and lack of understanding of chart symbols and tidal differences. To reduce grounding accidents of small fishing vessels, I suggested the following measures. First, crew members who have completed the able seafarer training course on bridge watchkeeping should assist to the master. Second, alarm systems to prevent drowsiness should be installed in the bridge. Third, the regulation should be prepared for the performance standards and updating GPS plotter. Finally, the skipper of small vessels should be trained periodically to be familiar with chart symbols and basic terrestrial navigation.