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Ever-fewer cargo ships fly Taiwan's flag, MOTC says

The number and cargo scale of domestic cargo ships flying the national Republic of China flag have noticeably declined over the past decade, according to the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC).

Statistics compiled by the MOTC show that over the past 10 years, the number of ROC-flagged cargo ships fell from 278 in 1993 to 239 as of the end of August. In terms of the total ships' weight, the level dropped from 6.63 million tons in 1993 to 3.93 million as of the end of August. In terms of the total cargo weight, the figure slid from 10.26 million tonnes to 6.3 million tonnes during the same 10-year period.

The marked decreases are the result of a rising operational costs at home, industry sources said. They noted that many domestic ships now fly the flags of Panama, Britain and Italy, mainly because of their low registration fees and handsome tax incentives.
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