The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on Feb. 8 announced its expansion of free remote medical support 24 hours a day for the crew of coastal vessels. (Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries)

By Lee Dasom

The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries on Feb. 8 announced its planned expansion of free remote medical support around the clock to vessel crew.

Such assistance from this year will come in 20 languages including Vietnamese and Indonesian for the benefit of foreign crew on coastal vessels. Ten more support ships will be added this month through a public offering.

Close-knit on-site management will see medical staff periodically visit vessels for customized training and outreach to older crew. Continuous monitoring of service usage will also seek to enhance efficiency.

Since 2023, the ministry has cooperated with Pusan National University Hospital to connect video calls to coastal vessels equipped with telemedicine devices to support the health management and emergency treatment of crew.

Last year, crew on 127 coastal vessels used this service to receive 1,877 medical support services.

Han Seung-hyun, head of the ministry's Advanced Maritime Transportation Service Team, said, "We will raise access to medical services for both domestic and foreign sea crew by expanding support programs for maritime telemedicine and greatly improve maritime working conditions."

dlektha0319@korea.kr