1.Introduction

While continuing to exploit and use the sea, people have been very negligent of the conservation and management of the sea in Korea. As a result, marine environment has been deteriorating and enormous problems have occurred in making use of the sea. Because marine environmental capacity is not unlimited, marine pollution will be exacerbated, especially in coastal waters if not only land-based urban sewage and industrial wastewater but also various types of pollutants from marine facilities and vessels continue to flow into the sea without any control or regulation. Thus, the measures for marine environment management are necessary to be established (Kim, 2009).

In order to prevent marine pollution and to manage marine environment effectively in Korea, a national system of report on marine facilities was adopted into Marine Environment Management Act and made it obligatory on their owners (including installers and operators, and in cases where such facilities are leased, referring to the lessees of such facilities) to make a report on such facilities to Minister of Oceans and Fisheries of Korea under the provisions of Article 33 of the Act.

The term “marine facility” means facilities or structures determined by the Ordinance of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries or the Enforcement Ordinance of Marine Environment Act, which are installed or placed in, or thrown into sea areas (including harbors provided for in subparagraph 1 of Article 2 of the Harbor Act) or between a sea area and land continuously under the provisions of Subsection 17 of Article 2 of the Act and provided in table 1 attached to the Ministerial Ordinance or the Enforcement Ordinance of the Act.

The term shipyard means a workplace where ships are built, repaired or broken up and is designated as a marine facility of item Da of subsection 1 by the table 1 attached to the Ministerial Ordinance.

Since the introduction of a modern concept of shipbuilding industry into Korea at the end of the 19th century, the shipbuilding industry had been trivial due to the restoration of independence from Japanese rule in 1945 and the Korean War in 1950. It's foundations for growth was laid by a five-year economic development plan in 1960s and it was selected as the main industry to promote by the governmental economic development plan in 1970s, resulting in remarkable growth under the support of national finance. As Korean shipbuilding industry has leaped to the highest level on an international scale ever since then, the shipbuilding has played a pivotal role in Korean industry and has made a great contribution to the national economy development of Korea (KOSHIPA, 2014).

The possibility for various types of pollutants from shipyards to flow into coastal sea exists in the processes of building, repair and breakup of ships. As of the end of the year 2009, 45% of total 178 nationwide shipyards were reported to be concentrated around southeastern area of Korea such as Busan metropolitan city and Gyeongnam province (Kim, 2010a). So marine pollution is likely to be intensified in this area.

Therefore, the control of pollutants discharged from the shipyards in the process of building, repair and breakup of ships is required and the current state of pollution incidents occurred in shipyards of Korea are necessary to be analyzed.

There is barely any systematic investigation or research on the pollution incidents of the nationwide shipyards in Korea. Kim and Han(2012) had tried to analyze marine pollution incidents occurred in the waters adjacent to shipyards in Korea using the data of pollution incidents occurred for 5 years. It was, however, pointed out that the data of 5 years were insufficient for the medium and long term analysis of pollution incidents.

In this study, the data of pollution incidents in nationwide shipyards of Korea for 10 years were collected and analyzed. In addition, the measures for the prevention of pollution incidents in shipyards in Korea were suggested. The outcomes of this study are expected to be used as a basic reference to establish national plans for the positive prevention of pollution incidents in nationwide shipyards and around coastal area in Korea.

2.Data and Method

2.1.Data collection and analysis method

Data of pollution incidents occurred in nationwide shipyards of Korea for 10 years from 2004 to 2013 were collected by Korea Coast Guard, and the number of pollution incidents were categorized and analyzed by year, provincial region, work type of shipyard and type of pollutant.

2.2.Facilities for building, repair and breakup of ships

The marine facilities which are stated expressly in table 1 attached to Ministerial Ordinance or Enforcement Ordinance of Marine Environment Management Act are categorized into Subsection 1, Subsection 2 and Subsection 3. Marine facilities designated as Subsection 1 in table 1 attached to Ministerial Ordinance are classified into 5 different sorts, and the facilities for building, repair and breakup of ships, inter alia, are related to shipyards and referred to as 1-Da facilities. These 1-Da facilities include storage facility, slipway facility and repair facility but exclude mobile facilities.

3.Analysis of Pollution Incidents occurred in Shipyards

For 10 years from 2004 to 2013, total number of pollution incidents occurred in nationwide shipyards of Korea were analyzed and shown in categories of year, provincial region, work type of shipyard and pollutant type.

3.1.Number of pollution incidents by year

Total number of pollution incidents occurred in nationwide shipyards for 10 years was found to be 103 cases along the coast lines of South Korea (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2), and the average number of annual incidents was about 10 cases.

As shown in Fig. 1, the number of pollution incidents increased from 8 cases in 2004 and 8 cases in 2005 to 11 cases in 2006, decreased to 8 cases in 2007 and then dropped sharply to 3 cases in 2008 as the lowest. However, it increased back to 15 cases in 2009 and reached 23 cases in 2010 as the highest. And then it decreased back to 13 cases in 2011 and dropped back drastically to 5 cases in 2012. After all, it bounced back to 9 cases in 2013.

For 10 years, the annual number of pollution incidents fluctuated considerably from year to year, and the range of fluctuation in annual number of incidents was 20 cases from 3 cases in 2008 to 23 cases in 2010.

In the year 2009, Korean shipping market and ship building market were in boom cycle where shipping freight and ship's price were relatively high. In such a situation, the number of pollution incidents in shipyards for 3 years from 2009 to 2011 accounted for 50% of total numbers for 10 years from 2004 to 2013.

3.2.Number of pollution incidents by province region

The regional data of total 103 cases of pollution incidents for 10 years showed that Busan ranked the first by 32 cases (31%) followed by Jeonnam with 30 cases (29%), Gyeongnam with 21 cases (21%), Jeju with 5 cases (5%), Gangwon with 4 cases (4%), Gyeongbuk with 4 cases (4%), Chungnam with 3cases (3%) and Incheon with 3 cases (3%) (Fig. 2, Fig. 3 and Fig. 4).

83 cases (81%) of total 103 cases of nationwide pollution incidents occurred along southern coastal area of Korea for 10 years. According to Kim(2010a), total number of 1-Da facilities was 178 as of the end of the year 2009, accounting for 26.5% of 672 nationwide marine facilities. These 1-Da facilities were reported to be well distributed throughout nationwide coastal areas which are covered by 12 regional maritime affairs and port administrations, and 45% of total 1-Da facilities were concentrated around southeastern area of Korea such as Busan metropolitan city and Gyeongnam province (Kim, 2010b). Kim(2010b) showed that, as of the end of the year 2009, 109 shipyards (61%) of total 178 nationwide shipyards were concentrated along southern coastal area of Korea such as Busan metropolitan city (33 shipyards, 18%), Gyeongnam province (48 shipyards, 27%) and Jeonnam province (28 shipyards, 16%). Busan where 33 shipyards (18% of all nationwide shipyards) were located in 2009, ranked the first in the number of pollution incidents by 32 cases (31% of all cases) for 10 years from 2004 to 2013, and Jeonnam where 28 shipyards (16%) were located in 2009, ranked the second by 30 cases (29%) for 10 years. On the other hand, Gyeongnam ranked the first in the number of shipyard nationwide by 48 shipyards (27%) in 2009, whereas ranked the third in the number of pollution incidents by 21 cases (21%) for 10 years. This means that, in most provincial regions except Gyeongnam, the number of pollution incidents occurred in shipyards of a certain region was generally proportional to the number of shipyards located in the relevant region. It implies that there is a possibility for shipyards to discharge a large amount of various pollutants to nearby coastal sea, especially to southern coastal sea of Korea, in the course of building, repair and breakup of ships. Therefore, the plans of marine environment management around coastal area are to be drawn up, and the measures for the prevention of pollution incidents in shipyards are to be taken in Korea.

3.3.Number of pollution incidents by the work type of shipyard

The data of pollution incidents occurred during various types of works in nationwide shipyards for 10 years showed that the number of pollution incidents ranked the first by 60 cases during ship repair work (58%), the second by 25 cases during ship breakup work (24%), the third by 10 cases during ship building work (10%), and the last by 8 cases during other works (8%) (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6).

29 cases occurred for 3 years of 2009 (7 cases, 12%), 2010 (13 cases, 22%) and 2011 (9 cases, 15%) accounting for 49% of 60 cases of pollution incidents during ship repair work for 10 years. 7 cases occurred for the year of 2009 accounting for 28% of 25 cases of pollution incidents during ship breakup work for 10 years. 5 cases occurred for 3 years of 2009 (1 case, 10%), 2010 (3 cases, 30%) and 2011 (2 cases, 20%) accounting for 60% of 10 cases of pollution incidents during ship building work for 10 years. These phenomena were supposed to be closely related with Korean shipping market and ship building market being in boom cycle in the year 2009.

Therefore, the measures for prevention of pollution incidents in shipyards, especially during ship repair and breakup works, are necessary to be taken in Korea.

3.4.Number of pollution incidents by the type of pollutant

As shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, the data of pollution incidents occurred by various types of pollutants for 10 years showed that the number of pollution incidents by oil and oily mixtures ranked the first by 59 cases (57%), waste paint dust the second by 22 cases (21%), iron dust and slag the third by 13 cases (13%), wastes the fourth by 4 cases (4%), waste FRP powder by 3 cases (3%), and others the last by 2 cases (2%).

Because various types of oils such as fuel oil, cargo oil, lubricating oil, etc. are usually carried on board the ship, oils are very likely to be discharged when pollution incidents happen in shipyards. It is, therefore, natural for oil and oily mixtures to rank the first of all the types of pollutants. This means that the measures for prevention of oil-related pollution incidents in shipyards are needed to be taken. On the other hand, different kinds of paints are ordinarily applied on the decks, walls, hulls, etc. of ships, and the old paints are normally striped off from the ships before repaint or repair, and hence waste paint dusts stand the second in all the type of pollutants. Iron dust and slag can also appear in the courses of rubbing the rust off the ship and welding works on board the ship. So they ranked the third of all pollutants.

Waste paint dust, and iron dust and slag which fly and distribute over the wide areas adjacent to shipyards bring harm to not only houses, commercial quarters, farms and factories but also seas nearby. So they are the cause of civil complaints, which should be solved by preventive measures.

4.Plans for Prevention of Pollution Incidents in Shipyard

4.1.Observance of the related laws and regulations

To reduce and minimize the number of pollution incidents in nationwide shipyards, the relevant laws and regulations such as Marine Environment Management Act, Clean Air Conservation Act, etc. should be obeyed in Korea, as shown in Table 1.

In Marine Environment Management Act, Article 33 (Report on Marine Facilities), Article 34 (Management of Marine Facility Pollutant Registers), Article 35 (Management of Contingency Plan for Pollution by Marine Facilities), Article 36 (Marine Pollution Prevention Manager), Article 111 (Report, etc. on Dismantling of Ships) and Article 121 (Education and Training of Marine Pollution Prevention Managers, etc.) are closely related to the business of shipyards in Korea.

In Clean Air Conservation Act, Article 43 (Regulation on Scattering Dust), Article 44 (Regulation on Volatile Organic Compounds), Article 45 (Regulation on Existing Facilities Emitting Volatile Organic Compounds), Article 82 (Reports, Inspections, etc.), the attached table 1 to Enforcement Ordinance (Standards of Installation of Facilities for Control of Occurrence of Scattering Dust and Necessary Measures) and the like are important for the operation of shipyards in Korea.

Article 15 (Prohibition on Release, etc.) of Water Quality and Aquatic Ecosystem Conservation Act and Article 17 (Restrictions on Traffic for Preserving Water Quality of Water Supply Sources) of Wastes Control Act should be born in mind for the prevention of pollution from shipyards in Korea.

4.2.Establishment and implementation of action plans to prevent areas dense with shipyards from causing pollution incidents

As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, 83 cases (81%) of 103 cases of nationwide pollution incidents occurred along southern coastal area of Korea for 10 years. According to Kim(2010b), as of the end of the year 2009, 109 shipyards (61%) of total 178 nationwide shipyards were concentrated along southern coastal area of Korea such as Busan metropolitan city, Gyeongnam province and Jeonnam province. It is most likely that various types of pollutants from shipyards will enter coastal sea in the processes of building, repair and breakup of ships. Therefore, the action plans for the prevention of pollution incidents in areas dense with shipyards located along southern coast line are needed to be drawn up and to be implemented in Korea.

4.3.Establishment and implementation of oil pollution prevention plans in shipyards, especially during the ship repair and breakup works

As found in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the number of pollution incidents in nationwide shipyards for 10 years ranked the first by 60 cases during ship repair work (58%) and it ranked the second by 25 cases during ship breakup work (24%). As shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, 59 cases of oil and oily mixture pollution incidents occurred and accounted for 57% of 103 pollution incidents in nationwide shipyards for 10 years. Therefore, measures to prevent the oil-related pollution incidents in shipyards, especially during the ship repair and breakup works, are needed to be taken.

4.4.Preparation of measures to solve civil complaints against pollution incidents in shipyards

As shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 8, 22 cases of waste paint dust pollution incidents and 13 cases of iron dust and slag pollution incidents happened in the processes of building, repair and breakup of ships in nationwide shipyards, and accounted for 21% and 13%, respectively, of total 103 pollution incidents in nationwide shipyards for 10 years. The waste paint dust, and iron dust and slag which fly and distribute over the wide areas adjacent to shipyards bring harm to not only houses, commercial quarters, farms and factories but also seas nearby. They are the cause of civil appeals, which should be dealt with preventive measures.

4.5.Improvement in national management for the control of shipyards

Because all shipyards are subject to a lot of relevant laws and regulations, and receive many enforcement authorities' controls and the related agencies' guidances in Korea, as shown Table 1, domestic major shipyards take a negative attitude with regard to national report system of marine facilities as stipulated in Article 33 (Report on Marine Facilities) of Marine Environment Management Act (Kim, 2010a; 2010b). In such a passive situation, however, most owners of medium and small-sized marine facilities, including installers and operators, made reports on such facilities to the Minister of Oceans and Fisheries voluntarily or reluctantly.

In order for major shipyards to participate in national report system voluntarily and positively, and for the pollution incidents of shipyards to be prevented after all, the national system and method to manage and control the nationwide shipyards which are the marine facilities for building, repairing and disassembling ships should be reformed by amending various shipyard-related laws and regulations in such a way to meet the realistic needs of shipyard business and works.

5.Conclusion

Data of pollution incidents which occurred in shipyards of South Korea for 10 years from 2004 to 2013 were collected and analyzed, and the plans to prevent pollution incidents in shipyards were summarized as follows;