Korean vessels and docks face tougher environmental regulations under the government’s new measures to halve maritime fine dust pollution by 2022.

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries and the Ministry of Environment on Tuesday signed an agreement to cooperate on reducing fine dust level at harbors, believed to be the culprit for 10 percent of the fine dust pollution in the country. Their cooperation will include regulating the level of sulfur in fuel for ships, securing eco-friendly loading/unloading facilities, and establishing fine dust monitoring system at harbors.

Harbors handle more than 99 percent of the freights that are going in and out of the country. But they are also considered as one of the largest emitter of air pollutants. In 2015, vessels emitted 32,330 tons of fine dust pollution or 10 percent of total (336,006 tons) created in the country, according to the ministries.

The maritime and environment ministries will work together to come up with more comprehensive and effective measures that would help dramatically reduce the fine dust pollution level at harbors by 2022. The maritime ministry said it will set up low-emissions and low-speed zones in near seas and expand the use of eco-friendly facilities and equipment at harbors. The environment ministry will improve air pollution monitoring at harbors and actively encourage aged diesel cargo trucks to install pollution reduction devices.

The two ministries plan to hold meeting on regular basis to check on the progress.

The Korean government has recently turned more aggressive in combating against fine dust air pollution that has been worsening in recent years. Entering this year, the county has already suffered record-high concentrations of dangerous PM 2.5 particles, called fine dust, for a few weeks. The health concerns caused by fine dust are growing, changing daily life patterns of people living in the country by keeping them away from outdoor activities.

By Choi Hee-seok and Cho Jeehyun

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