- Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries, Accelerating Digital Transformation with ｢Marine and Fisheries Smartification Strategy 2.0｣

 

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Major Additional Initiatives to Transform the Marine and Fisheries Sector

 

□ Smart aquafarms featuring higher productivity with automated feeding and water temperature controls

□ Ensuring the safety of marine and fisheries workers with anti-collision port cranes and equipment-injury prevention net haulers

□ Launching of an Integrated Performance Validation Center to verify new shipping and logistics technologies in the actual marine environment

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The Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries (MOF; Minister MOON, Seong-Hyeok) expanded the scope and revised its ｢Marine and Fisheries Smartification Strategy (hereafter, ｢Smartification Strategy｣ to ｢Marine and Fisheries Smartification Strategy 2.0 (hereafter Smartification Strategy 2.0)｣ to accelerate the digital transformation of the marine and fisheries sector as well as the transition of public life towards smart technologies.

 

The ｢Smartification Strategy｣ of 2019 has been the cornerstone of the digital transformation of all fields in the marine and fisheries sector for the last two years, including marine logistics, fisheries, and marine observation. First, the strategy delivered the infrastructure required for the marine and fisheries digital ecosystem, including the introduction of the ultra-high-speed wireless communication network (LTE-M), the launch of the ocean observation satellite Cheollian 2B, and the installation of the marine and fisheries big data center and exchange. Moreover, the strategy continues to prepare for the introduction of smart fishing technologies, including fully unmanned autonomous ships and CCTV-based artificial intelligence observers as well as R&D into technologies relating to automated ports. Moreover, since last year the sea navigation system (e-Nav) service has been fully rolled out and the development of the prototype for autonomous ships has started, which are planned to be pilot tested on the actual sea starting in 2022.

 

However, to replicate the initial successes of the ｢Smartification Strategy｣ and to reflect the recent rapid changes in the policy environment, it has become imperative to revise and improve the existing strategy. First, the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the pace of digital transformation in all sectors following the increase in non-face-to-face and contactless services. Moreover, there is also increased demand for digitalization in areas that were not covered in the previous ｢Smartification Strategy｣, including the field of marine leisure tourism and marine and fishery worker safety.

 

Therefore, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries has expanded the scope and revised the ｢Smartification Strategy｣ to ｢Smartification Strategy 2.0｣ under the vision of “Becoming a leading nation in smart marine and fisheries.” New initiatives were identified and added under the three major improvement directions of ^① substantial digitalization that transforms the industrial sites and the lives of people beyond the introduction of infrastructure, ^② improved safety management of workers and marine and fisheries facilities that are under much public scrutiny, and ^③ increased investment and securing of internal digitalization capabilities in line with the wider pan-governmental digital transformation.

 

(1) Marine Logistics: Introducing intelligent marine transportation systems and brining innovation to marine logistics services

 

① Realize unmanned smart marine logistics with autonomous ships and smart ports ② Digitalize the logistics process by implementing a digital twin of port-city traffic ③ Build a hyper-connected marine transportation infrastructure by using e-Nav and smart navigation signs

 

In the field of marine logistics, the Ministry will continue to steadily drive the existing initiatives of developing autonomous ships, building automated/smart ports, and implementing a sharing economy platform for logistics resources, such as containers, and plans to carry out other priority initiatives to take the lead in the global marine logistics sector.

First, smart logistics centers will be built by 2024 at the ports of Busan and Incheon, where the combination of robots and Internet of Things (IoT) devices will control the storage and release of goods while big data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will perform inventory management. Moreover, the Ministry plans to implement a digital twin^* of the traffic conditions at the ports and the supporting cities by 2025 to provide the optimal transport times and routes to logistics firms while developing the systems to optimize logistics operational flow. Furthermore, the Ministry plans to launch Integrated Performance Validation Centers that can verify the performance of new marine logistics technologies at ports and actual sea sites to reduce the burden on marine logistics startups.

 

* A technology that creates a virtual space identical to the real world that allows simulations of diverse scenarios

 

The Ministry also plans to advance e-Nav, the first commercial e-navigation system in the world, by adding new services, including onboard monitoring, pilotage, and tugboat support, to its previous services of electronic charts and optimal route guides by 2023, and will carry out an international pilot program for Korea’s sea navigation service to become the international standard marine transportation system. Furthermore, the lighthouses and buoys, which only serve as milestones in current maritime traffic, will be developed into smart navigational signs that can monitor the ocean conditions of tides and weather and support search and rescue operations by 2025.

 

④ Establish a smart fishery management system with CCTV crackdowns on illegal fishing ⑤ Digitalize and renew fishing villages and ports by adopting ICT ⑥ Smart seafood distribution and processing systems that combine low-temperature fish auction markets and automated processing plants

 

(2) Fisheries: Expansion of the fishery sector through digital technologies (ICT+F)

 

The fisheries sector also continues to carry out existing initiatives, including the development and supply of CCTV-based AI observers that monitor illegal fishing activities in real-time, the development of smart aquafarming technologies with automated feeding and water temperature controls, and the development of smart fish auction markets that allow automated unloading to packaging of seafood, as well as added new digitalization initiatives in the fields of fishing villages and ports.

 

First, the obsolescent digital infrastructure of the fishing villages will be improved in line with the Fishing Village New Deal Program. Moreover, smart fishing ports will be created, which apply Internet of Things (IoT) technology to the management of fishing port facilities. The latest measurement devices, including CCTVs with motion sensors and accelerometers, will be installed in danger zones and wharfs, locations with frequent accidents involving breakwaters and tetrapods, to digitalize the safety management of fishing port workers and to improve the efficiency of fishing port management. The data obtained by the measurement devices will be remotely monitored by Korea Fisheries Infrastructure Public Agency, with the aim of immediately responding to any issues.

 

*Launch pilot locations in 3 national fishing ports of the island regions (2023) and gradually expand to other regions

 

Aside from the above, a smart fishing operations management system will be implemented by 2023, which will enable pre-emptive fishing operation management by analyzing the massive illegal fishing activity data collected from the AI observers. The standardization of catch containers as part of the circulation logistics system to promote recycling will be added as a new initiative to accelerate the realization of a new digital-based fisheries sector.

 

(3) Oceans: Digitalizing oceans and fisheries to improve the lives of the public

 

⑦ Realize oceans and fisheries work sites that are safe for all, by preventing port and fishing boat accidents with new technologies ⑧ Ensure safer and more convenient marine leisure and tourism, enjoyed via AR·VR from anywhere ⑨ Build a smart marine environment response system by introducing the latest observation equipment

 

With the ever-increasing public interest in the safety of marine and fisheries workers and marine leisure and tourism, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries intends to digitalize the daily lives of the public beyond the marine and fisheries sector by adopting digital technologies in these fields. First, the smart port safety platform, which shall be responsible for the safety of port workers, will be piloted in Busan Port in 2022 and later expanded throughout the nation’s ports. Big data analysis of ports will allow for the early detection and removal of potential accident risks, and image recognition devices shall be installed on port cranes to prevent collisions with workers.

 

In addition to the safety management of port workers, safety management of port facilities will also be digitalized. By 2023, measurement sensors will be installed in the underground facilities of 29 trading ports nationwide, to monitor abnormal activities such as subsidence or cracks in the ground surface in real-time. Meanwhile, the data provided by the measurement sensors up to 2026 will be used to implement digital twins of ports to make pre-emptive predictions regarding the impacts from various policies and construction work.

 

To ensure the safety of fishing crew, risk elements in the end-to-end fishing process from the operational design to fishing activities will also be removed. An AI-based ship design platform will be developed by 2026 to provide fish boat blueprints that have lower risks of accidents to fishermen. Prior to this, net haulers with motion detection features^* will be developed and supplied by 2024 to prevent trapping accidents during fishing operations. Moreover, to prevent fishing boat collisions, the number of fishing boats installed with sea navigation systems will be increased to 15,000 by 2025.

 

*105 deaths from accidents involving net haulers, devices used to pull in fishing nets, during the last 5 years (2016~2020)

 

Meanwhile, the number of recreational fishing villages that can be enjoyed via Virtual Reality (VR) and the metaverse will be increased from the current 3 locations to 35 by 2030 to take advantage of contactless fishing village tourism and a smart coastal passenger ship safety operation management system will be implemented by 2027 to improve the safety management of passenger ships, where intelligent CCTVs will be used to monitor and control the accident-prone processes of port entry, departure, and berthing of passenger ships.

 

The Ministry plans to carry out, in due time, the initiatives included in the ｢Smartification Strategy｣, including the IoT-based autonomous observation system, reduction of marine disaster time predictions (12 hours → 4 hours) using the ultra-high-performance super computer resources dedicated to the marine sector, and the management of marine environments using IoT equipment.

 

⑩ Digitalized smart marine and fisheries administrative activities with metaverse reporting and blockchain-based document submissions ⑪ Data-based administrative process by building marine and fisheries bid data dam ⑫ Build infrastructure for developing talent in smart technology with experiences in marine and fisheries as well as ICT capabilities

 

(4) Infrastructure: Securing stable capabilities to digitalize the marine and fisheries sector

 

Unlike the previous ｢Smartification Strategy｣, which focused on the hardware, such as the building of the infrastructure, the revised ｢Smartification Strategy 2.0｣ also includes initiatives relating to software, such as administrative skills and talent development.

 

In terms of the administrative processes, new digital technology will be actively applied to existing processes to introduce work processes that fit the digital era. By 2024, a joint documentation platform and metaverse-based reporting will be introduced. Moreover, automation work processes will be developed to relieve the employees of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries from simplistic and repetitive work activities, to ensure more time for them to communicate with people on site and to focus more on policies, thereby improving the quality of the policies.

 

A holistic review will be conducted of online services, including the website and App, provided by the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries to consolidate and rationalize similar or duplicate services and to derive plans to connect relatable services to enhance end-user convenience. Moreover, an information sharing approach based on blockchain technology will be introduced to upgrade the current administrative processes into a one-stop service approach, where the relevant institutions shall be provided with the necessary documents via a single point of document submission, which previously required document submissions to multiple institutions.

 

The Marine and Fisheries Data Dam, a comprehensive database of all data held by public and private institutions and companies, will be built by 2023. The Data Dam shall be continuously provided to the public. Moreover, to effectively prepare against cyber security threats, AI-based monitoring and control system will be implemented.

 

To ensure the seamless delivery of the 12 core initiatives in the 4 areas under the ｢Smartification Strategy 2.0｣, the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries will establish the implementation plans at the start of each year and review the progress on a quarterly basis.

 

Minister MOON Seong-Hyeok of the Oceans and Fisheries commented, “While the oceans and fisheries sector continues to quickly respond to the changes in the digital transformation era via the ｢Smart Strategy｣ proactively established back in 2019, the changes in the policy environment and the marine and fisheries sites are accelerating at an even higher pace. With the revised ｢Smartification Strategy 2.0｣, the Ministry will fully engage itself to ensure that the marine and fisheries sector can lead the change in the era of digital transformation rather than just responding to the changes of our time.”