'Unidentified Vessel' Discovered Off Seogwipo... Busan Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries Moves Toward Ex Officio Disposal

[Financial News Jeju = Reporter Jeong Yong-bok] An unidentified vessel discovered off the coast of Jeju and transferred to Seogwipo Port has entered the process of ex officio disposal. Information needed to confirm its identity, including its name, port of registry, vessel number, and tonnage, remains unknown.
According to the Jeju Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Management Group of the Busan Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries on the 6th, the group issued a "Notice of Removal of Abandoned Vessel" on the 3rd and is seeking the vessel's owner, occupant, and interested parties by the 18th.
The vessel was discovered 20 nautical miles south of Seogwipo and is currently being stored at Pier 7 of Seogwipo Port. However, all key information needed to identify it remains "unknown." Its name, vessel or fishing-vessel number, port of registry, and tonnage have not been confirmed. The only confirmed information is that it is approximately 5.2 meters wide at the center and about 1.5 meters long.
The Busan Regional Office of Oceans and Fisheries initiated the removal procedure because it determined that the vessel could hinder the use and utility of public waters.
The Act on the Management and Reclamation of Public Waters allows the managing authority to remove capsized, sunken, abandoned, or moored vessels if they obstruct the use of public waters or pose risks of pollution or collision.
The management group will post notices on its website, bulletin boards, and at the site where the vessel was abandoned from September 3 to 18 to determine whether interested parties exercise their rights. If no objection or inquiry is submitted by the deadline, the rights will be deemed waived and the vessel will be removed ex officio. The vessel will be treated as waste rather than auctioned.
If the owner is identified later, the circumstances in which the vessel was abandoned in public waters may also be investigated. Under the relevant law, abandoning or leaving a vessel in public waters may be punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won.
[email protected] Jeong Yong-bok Reporter