• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
• /
• v.28 no.6
• /
• pp.946-954
• /
• 2022

More than half of barges have been surveyed and designated as an "unmanned barge". The main advantage of the unmanned barge is that it can carry more cargo equivalent to 25 percent of freeboard compared to that of a manned barge. In contrast, it needs an onboard crew barge because the bargeman is in charge of several tasks during sailing such as mooring or unmooring barges to or from a wharf, dropping and heaving up an anchor and turning on and of navigational lights and shapes. The instant recognition is that a tug assume the responsibility of operating a barge; however, different situations exist in which the shipper, as the operator of the barge, hires a tug. Although a tug might be a carrier of a barge under a specific contract, the master of the tug should fulfill his duty to complete its voyage. Most masters are not provided with the particulars of a barge and the information regarding the bargemen onboard, which is believed not to respect the master's authority and lead to an unintended violation of relevant laws. This paper presents three recommendations for resolving these issues: the policy approach for changing unmanned barges to manned barges, issuing a minimum safe manning certificate, and providing the master of tug information on the barge and the crew onboard. Thus, the proposed approach can be expected to improve the crew's working conditions, diminish the violation of the maximum number of persons onboard the barge, and ensure the authority of the master of tug through such recommendations.