This paper is the result of a comparative analysis of crew members' workloads using the EMG and OWAS methods according to the fishing process before and after the improvement of the operating system of the experimental vessel, with the aim of improving operational efficiency and safety work of coastal improved stow net fishing vessels. The target crew members were three people with at least five years of experience on board the same fishing vessel as the experimental vessel. After improving the operating system, such as installing a power block crane and two capstans, change the location of the ball-roller, the time required for setting and hauling work decreased (p < .01), and the evaluation results by OWAS showed that the overall workload for setting and hauling net work decreased. The results of muscle activity analysis showed a decrease in lashing anchor work (p < .01) in the case of hauling net and in anchor dropping work in the case of setting net (p < .001). It is judged that the use of ball rollers in net handling has been reduced; consequently, work safety has been improved.

Environmental noise occurring on ships has various negative impacts on sailors’ health conditions such as hearing loss, sleep disturbance, psychological stress, etc., so regulations on them are required, but the ship noise regulations are usually applied to only large merchant ships. Although regulations on fishing boats with strong fishing and work intensity are determined to be necessary, there has been little relevant research. This study, therefore, attempted to measure the environmental noise of coastal composite fishing vessels less than two tones and provide the results of basic research on the noise regulations for fishing vessels. It measured them by setting the measurement zones as after side, midship and fore side, and based on the criterion of IMO MSC 337(91). The findings showed that the noise of them often exceeded 75dB(A), the criterion of the open deck noise in the zones in which the load of main engines was increased. In particular, the noise of the stern was as high as 92.2dB(A) during the full ahead. Hence, hearing loss may be caused by such a noise, so a variety of regulations on it are determined to be necessary.

The first step is to determine the principal dimensions of the design ship, such as length between perpendiculars, beam, draft and depth when accomplishing the design of a new vessel. To make this process easier, a database with a large amount of existing ship data and a regression analysis technique are needed. Recently, deep learning, a branch of artificial intelligence (AI) has been used in regression analysis. In this paper, deep learning neural networks are used for regression analysis to find the regression function between the input and output data. To find the neural network structure with the highest accuracy, the errors of neural network structures with varying the number of the layers and the nodes are compared. In this paper, Python TensorFlow Keras API and MATLAB Deep Learning Toolbox are used to build deep learning neural networks. Constructed DNN (deep neural networks) makes helpful in determining the principal dimension of the ship and saves much time in the ship design process.

This study analyzed the allocation of the skipper’s attention during fishing operation in the wheelhouse of a Korean coastal composite fishing vessel by using video observation. To summarize the results, the ratio of lookout, radar and GPS monitoring, which is essential for prevention of collision at sea, was significantly lower than that of other fishing operation due to the attention concentration on the work place during hauling line. In order to reduce exposure to risk of collisions due to concentration of attention to certain tasks such as line hauling, it is necessary to develop an alert system that can notify the approach of other ships or obstruction throughout the ship using information from radar or the automatic identification system. In addition, the order of attention allocation to devices and facilities obtained in this study is expected to be used as basic data for device or facility layout based on the principle of usage frequency in designing wheelhouse for coastal composite fishing vessels in the future.

In order to understand basic data for improving the fishing system and fishing vessel structure in coastal improved stow net fishery, a questionnaire survey and on-site hearing were conducted from May 10 to June 11, 2019 to analyze opinions on the improvement of operation status and fishing vessel structure. The questionnaire survey consisted of ten questions on the operation status of coastal improved stow net fishery and six questions on the improvement of fishing vessel structure, and the results of each question were analyzed by the region, the captain’s age, the captain’s career and the age of fishing vessel. As a result of analyzing opinions on the operation status of the coastal improved stow net fishery, it was found that the average time required for casting net was 32.8 to 33.0 minutes and that the average time required for hauling net was 41.0 to 42.2 minutes which took 10 to 12 minutes more than for casting net. The most important work requiring improvement during fishing operation (the first priority) were ‘hauling net operation,’ ‘readjustment and storage of fishing gear,’ and ‘fish handling’ and the hardest factor in fishing management were in the order of ‘reduction of catch,’ ‘labor shortage’ and ‘rising labor costs.’ The most institutional improvement that is most needed in coastal improved stow net fishery was an ‘using fine mesh nets.’ Most of the respondent to the questions on the experience in hiring foreign crews was ‘either hiring or willing to hire foreign crews,’ and the average number of foreign crews employed was found to be 2.3 to 2.4 persons. The most important reason for hiring (or considering employment) foreign crews was ‘high labor costs.’ The degree of communication with foreign crews during fishing operation were ‘moderate’ or ‘difficult to direct work.’ The most important problem in hiring foreign crews (the first priority) was an ‘illegal departure.’ As the survey results on the opinion of structural improvement of coastal improved stow net fishing vessel, the degree of satisfaction with fishing vessel structure related to fishing operation was found to be somewhat unsatisfactory, with an average of 3.3 points on a five-point scale. The inconvenient structure of fishing vessel in possession (the first priority), the space needed most for the construction of new fishing vessel (the first priority) and the space considered important for the construction of new fishing vessel (the first prioprity) was a ‘fish warehouse.’ The most preferred equipment for the construction of new fishing vessel were ‘engine operation monitoring’ and ‘navigation safety devices.’ The average size (tonnage class), the average horse power and the average total length of fishing vessel for proper profit and safety fishing operation was between 13.8 and 14.0 tonnes, 808.3 to 819.5 H.P. and 23.4 to 23.5 meters, respectively. The results of the operation status of coastal improved stow net fishery and the requirement for improving the fishing vessel structure are expected to be provided as basic data for reference when we build or improve the fishing vessel.

This study was conducted to determine whether the layout of wheelhouse and work environment of coastal improved stow net fishing boats affect the physical abnormalities of wheelhouse workers through a survey and to use it as basic data to improve the wheelhouse work environment. The analysis results are as follows. The result of factor analysis on the wheelhouse work environment was classified into three factors: suitability of work environment, suitability of work space arrangement, and layout of navigational and fishing equipment. The result of factor analysis on physical abnormalities was divided into two factors: physical pain and fatigue. The results of regression model analysis showing factors affecting physical pain showed that the t-value in the regression model was 3.625 (p < 0.05), indicating that the work environment suitability had an effect on the physical pain. Work environment suitability had a significantly positive effect on the physical pain. As work environment suitability increased by 1, the physical pain increased by 0.371 (p < 0.05). The results of regression model analysis showing the influencing factors on fatigue were found to have a t-value of 3.009 (p < 0.05) in the regression model, indicating that the work environment suitability had a significantly positive effect on the feeling of fatigue. It was found that fatigue increased by 0.324 (p < 0.05) as the work environment suitability increased by 1. In addition, the manageability of task suitability was found to be t = –2.521 (p > 0.05). As the manageability of task suitability increased, the skipper’s fatigue level decreased. From these results, it is inferred that the wheelhouse of the current coastal improved stow net fishing boats causes physical pain and fatigue for the skippers. In order to reduce such physical pain and fatigue, and to improve safe fishing operation and job satisfaction, it is necessary to provide a wheelhouse to fishermen on coastal improved stow net fishing boats in consideration of the characteristics of the wheelhouse work of fishing boats and in consideration of users.

The purpose of this study was to develop an optimized hull-form of a coastal fishing vessel operating at high speed. In order to achieve the purpose of the study, HOTBOAT, that can perform an automatic hull-form optimal design of a coastal fishing vessel, was developed. HOTBOAT was composed of an objective function estimation algorithm and an optimization algorithm and a hull-form modification algorithm. In this study, the wave-making resistance was selected as an objective function and the potential-based panel method was applied to predict the objective function. SQP(sequential quadratic programming) method were adopted to predict the optimal direction and answer. Bell-shaped hull-form modification function method and NURBS(non-uniform rational B-spline) geometry modeling method were applied to modify the hull-form during the whole optimization process. HOTBOAT was applied to develop the optimal hull-form of a coastal fishing vessel with minimum wave resistance. The initial hull-form of the coastal fishing vessel was compared with the optimal hull-form. As a result of hull-form optimization, a coastal fishing vessel with a reduction of about 30% was developed compared with the initial hull-form and the displacement and the wetted surface area of the optimal hull-form was decreased to less than about 1% in comparison with the initial hull-form.

In this study, the risk factors of coastal purse seine fisherman were analyzed through a survey of fishery workers of coastal purse seine fishery and the accident compensation insurance data of the fisheries workers of the National Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives (NFFC). The classified fishing operation accident data was analyzed through 4M (Man, Machine, Media, Management) model of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the accident prevention measures were presented using Harvey's 3E (Engineering, Education, Enforcement) model. The rate of accidents on coastal purse seinens each year was 75.8‰, 36.7‰ and 74.8‰ from 2015 to 2017. The accident frequency resulting from slipping was the highest, and the risk of a contact with gear was low. When comparing each insurance data, the average value of the contact with gear accident was the highest. This research result is expected to be important data in identifying and preventing safety hazards of coastal purse seiner fisherman in the future.

This study collected and analyzed the fishing process of existing fishing boat and newly built fishing boat by using the video observation methods to understand the improvement of fishing operation efficiency and safety according to the scale change of coastal composite fishing boat. The fishing operation efficiency was calculated by analyzing the frequency of movement, the movement distance and the moving time per basket used in the fishing process to derive the improvement of the newly built fishing boat compared to the existing fishing boat. It was confirmed that the mean frequency of movements decreased to 13.9%, the average moving time decreased to 21.8%, the mean movement distance increased to 20.5% and the movement through the top of gunwale did not occur. Movement of frequency, increased and time according to the fishing operation were directly affected by the width of side passages and the presence or absence of walking obstruction such as bulwark stay, hatch coaming and fishing gears on deck. The results of this study are expected to be used as basic data for redesigning into a safe and efficient coastal composite fishing boat in the future.

This research carried out a study on the job characteristics of the skipper of the coastal composite fishing vessels in order to find a way to prevent the ship collision caused by the highest human error among the marine casualty of fishing boats. Video observation was used as the research method in which six CCD cameras were installed on the vessel to collect image data and data extracted from the image were analyzed to derive the results of the functional activity of skipper according to the fishing operation process of experimental fishing vessel. The results are as follows. The working process of the experimental fishing vessel consisted of navigation for fishing ground, setting line, waiting for hauling line, hauling line and navigation to homeport. In these processes, the skipper was performing watchkeeping in the wheelhouse in which he carried out a single task, a dual task that performed two tasks simultaneously, and a triple task that performed two or more tasks simultaneously. In addition, one of the risk factors causing the collision was a no watchkeeping in the wheelhouse for navigating for fishing ground, waiting for hauling line, and hauling line at 25.4%, 64.6% and 0.3%, respectively among the marine casualty while drowsiness caused 1.2% of the marine casualty in navigating for fishing ground. Concurrent tasks that simultaneously perform two or more tasks that can overlook any other important duties while carrying out watchkeeping in the wheelhouse include 51.3% of navigation for fishing ground, 81.9% of setting line, 19.0% of waiting for hauling line, 87.9% of hauling, and 88.7% of navigation to homeport. The above concurrent tasks yielded an average of 66.1%. Experimental fishing vessels are required to focus on ship handling operations related to fishery operations, and the skipper is assigned more activities and attention to fishery related tasks. Therefore, it is considered desirable to build a collision prevention system that is appropriate to the characteristics of the skipper’s work, escaping from transferring the responsibility of ship collision to the skipper completely.