• Journal of the Korean Society of Marine Environment & Safety
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• v.26 no.4
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• pp.366-373
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• 2020

According to Article 77 of the Ship Safety Act and Article 97(2) of the Enforcement Ordinance of the Ministry, the Recognized Organization (RO) personnel (ship surveyors) responsible for statutory survey shall have educational qualifications and experience in a specific field or obtain a license under the National Technical Qualifications Act. However, graduates from maritime high schools and those who completed the short-term course of the Ocean Polytec did not satisfy the qualification standards for the RO personnel since they did not graduate from the departments of maritime/fisheries or shipbuilding. Major shipping countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada use the IACS (International Association of Classification Societies) regulations, and the Ship Safety Act in Japan has eliminated the qualification requirements for ship surveyors. In particular, under the IMO (International Maritime Organization) and IACS regulations, the RO personnel shall have as a minimum the following formal educational background: a degree or equivalent qualification from a tertiary institution recognized within a relevant field of engineering or physical science (minimum two years' program); or a relevant qualification from a marine or nautical institution and relevant sea-going experience as a certified ship officer; and competency in the English language commensurate with their future work. Considering that Article 17 of the Enforcement Decree on Public Officials Appointment Examinations prohibits educational restrictions and there are no educational restrictions on the qualifications of British and Japanese surveyors, if the maritime high school graduates have sufficient sea-going experience, education, and training, they could be recognized as meeting the qualification requirements. Moreover, those who completed the short-term course of the Ocean Polytec could also be recognized as meeting the qualification requirements because they are required to have at least a professional bachelor's degree (in the case of a third-class CoC (Certificate of Competancy)) and some sea-going experience after completion.