Korean Marine Traffic Safety Act (hereinafter the Act) is having the provisions on marine order such as the establishment and management in special area and as the designation of route in narrow channel, which can not be seen in the international rule, by considering specially geographical conditions and traffic environment in the coastal area of our country.
In Article 62 of the Act, it is prescribing that the minister for Ministry of Land Transport and Maritime Affairs may announce by deciding on the range in the sea area, which is recognized to have concern about happening in marine accident due to topography, tide, and other national conditions as the sea area except special area, and on the necessary matters for navigation safety such as route and speed in a vessel.
When the Traffic Separation Schemes are set for narrow channel among the routeing system by Article 62 of the Act, the navigation rules in narrow channel and the navigation rules in traffic separation waters are overlapped to be applied. However, it is not prescribed on which navigation is preferentially applied in the navigation-safety provisions of the corresponding sea area. Even additionally, there is a problem that is not prepared several matters for the safe navigation in a vessel in the navigation-safety provisions. And, the navigation-safety provisions for these waters have the issue on navigation safety by considering characteristics in the corresponding sea area, but are taking the form in notification, thereby having a problem that navigators cannot get easy access to acquire.
This study aims to examine the navigation-safety provisions and to supplement problems about the current provisions on the basis of major collision cases that took place in the waters, which were designated as route according to Article 62 of the Act. And, the aim is to suggest the legislative solution so that the locally special provisions can have the position of the special law over the general-navigation provision and that navigators can have easy access.