Korea Launches its First Meteorological Ship

Korea’s new meteorological ship Gisang 1 was launched by the Korea Meteorological Administration on May 30, 2011 from Pier No 1 at Incheon port. It is Korea’s first weather ship.

The ship has a 47 passenger capacity and can track weather conditions by observing the air, ocean and the seabed. The ship which went into operation on Monday is 64 m long and weighs 498 tons. It was developed at a cost of W13.3 billion between 2008 and 2010. The primary function of the ship will be to take seasonal weather observations, these include yellow dust levels, basic wind and sea measurement and to help track monsoons. It will also warn against typhoons and other natural disasters like earthquakes.

The weather ship is equipped with technology such as the Automated Shipboard Aerological Programme which sends information directly to local weather services. This includes the temperature, atmospheric pressure and wind direction. It also has Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) sensors and an echo sounder.