Busan Coast Guard containing an oil spill (Image courtesy of Busan Coast Guard)
BUSAN, Apr. 22 (Korea Bizwire) – The Busan Coast Guard announced on April 20 that it will award a total of 900,000 won in rewards to individuals who reported cases of ocean pollution during the first quarter of this year.
The Coast Guard operates a reward system for reporting marine pollution incidents to supplement its ocean pollution monitoring efforts and raise public awareness about marine environmental protection.
If someone witnesses and reports the discharge of pollutants from ships, marine facilities, or other sources into the ocean, or the presence of pollutants at sea, the Coast Guard provides a monetary reward based on established criteria.
The reward amount ranges from 50,000 won to 3 million won, depending on factors such as the type of oil and the quantity discharged.
In one of the recent cases, a tipster alerted the Coast Guard in February about a black oil slick observed in the waters near Gamcheon Port.
Upon investigation, the Coast Guard discovered that a Russian vessel had illegally discharged approximately 3.5 kiloliters of bilge water, containing around 963 liters of heavy waste oil, into the ocean.
A Coast Guard official stated, “This incident could have gone unnoticed as an unidentified pollution case, and the discharge of heavy oil posed a significant threat to the marine environment. Considering these factors, we decided to award the maximum amount within the designated range to the tipster.”
The official urged the public to immediately report any sightings of black or rainbow-colored oil at sea by calling 119.
Last year, the Busan Coast Guard distributed 1.27 million won in rewards for 15 reported cases of ocean pollution.
The official added, “Busan is the region where this reward program is most actively utilized nationwide. We hope the ocean pollution reporting reward system will continue to raise public awareness about protecting the marine environment.”
M. H. Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
