South Korean Coast News

Two people died and nine were missing after a cargo ship sank off southwestern Japan early on Wednesday amid fierce winter winds, the coast guard said, as it continued to search for survivors.Six people who were rescued remained unconscious, while five had revived as of 8:30 p.m. local time (1130 GMT), the Japan Coast Guard said, partly citing information from its South Korean counterpart.The 6,651-tonne Hong Kong-registered Jintian - which had 22 crew on board who were Chinese or Myanmar nationals according to media reports - issued a distress call late on Tuesday…

“Dark fleets” believed to be from China have been fishing in North Korean waters, potentially netting Pyongyang millions of dollars in illicit fees and forcing smaller North Korean vessels further afield, a series of reports said this week.The South Korean coast guard as well as independent experts monitoring the implementation of United Nations sanctions have reported for years that ships of Chinese origin have been observed fishing in North Korean waters, in some cases having paid to obtain rights from North Korean authorities.In several new reports…

At this stage, the rescue operation is being taken care of by private fishing vessels, and our patrol boats have already arrived in the area. The damage to the Japanese fishing boat is minor and there has been no casualities.A South Korean trawler and a Japanese fishing boat collided in the Sea of Japan on Thursday (November 15) about 330 km (205 miles) northeast of an island claimed by both countries, officials said.Part of the 48-tonne South Korean trawler was submerged after the collision, which occurred at 9:38 a.m. local time (0038 GMT), a South Korean Coast Guard official said. All 13 sailors aboard the South Korean boat were rescued…

Strong winds, high waves and toxic gases are hindering dozens of rescue boats struggling to locate missing sailors from a stricken oil tanker in the East China Sea and to extinguish a fire that has burned for the past three days on the ship. The poor conditions, with rain and waves as high as 3 metres (10 feet), frustrated efforts to tame the fire and search for the 31 remaining tanker crew members, China's Ministry of Transport said in a statement on Tuesday. The flames were forcing the South Korean Coast Guard's search and rescue team to stay as far as 3 miles (4.8 km) away from the tanker, two South Korean officials told Reuters.

South Korea’s coast guard said it fired 249 warning shots over a group of Chinese fishing boats “swarming around” one of its patrol ships in South Korean waters, prompting a call for restraint from Beijing. South Korean coast guard vessels regularly chase Chinese boats suspected of fishing illegally in South Korean waters, at times sparking violent confrontations, complicating a relationship which is key to efforts to try to rein in North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs.

China on Wednesday said it was "very dissatisfied" with South Korea after the latter's coast guard fired warning shots at Chinese fishermen in South Korean waters. South Korea's coast guard vessels regularly chase Chinese boats for fishing illegally off the country's coast, at times sparking violent confrontations. On Tuesday, the South Korean Coast Guard said it stopped two Chinese vessels that were fishing illegally, prompting about 30 other Chinese boats in the same group to swarm around and collide with the coast guard vessel. "The safety of our own Coast Guard members was at risk," said Lee Dae-haeng, a spokesman at the Coast Guard's central regional headquarters. No Chinese fishermen were harmed, however, said South Korea's Yonhap news agency.

China said on Wednesday South Korea's coast guard should not have been operating in part of the sea where one of Seoul's patrol boats sank last week during an operation to crack down on a group of Chinese fishing boats. South Korean coast guard vessels regularly chase Chinese boats for fishing illegally off its coast, at times resulting in violent confrontations. The disputes are an irritant in relations between China and U.S. ally South Korea, even as their economic relations grow close and they share concerns about North Korea's nuclear weapons and missile programmes. South Korea's Ministry of Public Safety and Security, which oversees the coast guard, said one of its patrol boats sank last week during an anti-illegal fishing operation off the Korean peninsula's west coast.

A Mongolian-flagged cargo ship has sunk off the southern coast of South Korea, with most of the 16 North Korean crew members on board missing, according to South Korean coast guard officials Two crew members were found dead and three were rescued, while a search was under way for the other 11 crew still missing, the officials said. The Grand Fortune 1 was sailing from the Chongjin region on North Korea's east coast for a Chinese port carrying iron ore, said one official, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. The vessel sails regularly between North Korea and China, according to Reuters' ship tracking system. The rescued crew members were taken to a South Korean hospital for treatment, according to the coast guard. Source: Reuters

Rolls-Royce, the global power systems company,has been selected by the South Korean Coast Guard to supply Azimuth thrusters for a new fleet of 15 tugs. The contract, worth around £12 million, will involve the supply of Rolls-Royce Azimuth thrusters (two per vessel) as the prime propulsion and steering system on these powerful vessels, which will be fully equipped to perform oil-skimming and environmental protection duties. John Yi, Rolls-Royce, Vice President Asia - Naval, said: “We are proud to be a partner of the Korean Coast Guardas they embark on a significant expansion of their fleet by investing in these powerful, highly manoeuvrable vessels. The new class of vessels will replace the Korean Coast Guard’s existing tug fleet, which is also equipped with Rolls-Royce thrusters.

The Coast Guard of Taiwan has recently taken delivery of CG hull 123 and CG 125, which form part of Taiwan's 500 ton project. These two new vessels were built by Jong Shyn shipyard and are equipped with 4 x MJP 850 jets provided by Sweden-based MJP Waterjets. Comparing these new waterjets with the CP propellers of the preceding conventional ship, the results are striking. The new MJP propulsion arrangement is said to cost 40% less, while, at the same time, propulsion efficiency, fuel economy, acceleration and ship speed have been improved significantly.

McQuilling Services has released its January 2008 Tanker Market Outlook for the period 2008 through 2012. The report, produced each year in January, presents a forecast for 10 trades in the five major tanker sectors through 2012. Six dirty trades and four clean trades are evaluated and discussed. Since a year ago the world economic outlook has changed significantly in the short term. Growth is expected to slow from 5.2% in 2007 to 4.8% in 2008. The slowdown was sparked by the US economy and its travails in the sub-prime mortgage market which have spread to the international financial markets.