The Environmental Protection Administration said yesterday that Taiwan has received NT$61.3 million in compensation for the cleanup of an oil spill, caused last year by the Greek-registered MV Amorgos. The payment marks the first time the nation has received compensation for marine pollution.
The compensation is for the cleanup only and does not include damages or lawyers' fees.
"The real battle has just begun. We will continue to demand around NT$900 million in compensation [for damages] from the insurance company," said EPA administrator Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) at a press conference yesterday.
"We have no doubt that the polluters will pay the price," Hau said.
Yesterday's sum was the result of long-term negotiations between Taiwan and the ship's insurance company, the Assuranceforeningen Gard-Gjensidig.
The EPA's estimate of the money spent on cleaning up the spill -- based on reports from different agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Council of Agriculture, the Construction and Planning Administration and the Pingtung County Government -- came to about NT$93 million.
Coordinated by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd (
The EPA said the difference in the compensation paid and the EPA's original estimate could be attributed to differing views between the two parties over unit prices for various aspects of the clean up.
Hau said that seeking compensation for damages would be more challenging than for the cleanup because the losses are more difficult to estimate. Hau said he hopes to receive the compensation by the end of this year.
"I have to say that money cannot make up for damaged environment," Hau said, adding that if no conclusion is made by this year, Taiwan might file a lawsuit in Norway, where the insurance company is registered.
As for losses to the fishing industry, EPA officials said that the Pingtung District Fishermen's Association had decided to seek compensation on its own and not through governmental channels.
On Jan. 14 last year, the MV Amorgos, on its way from Indonesia to China, ran aground near Kenting National Park in Pingtung County due to bad weather. Four days later, 1,150 tonnes of fuel oil remaining on the ship began to spill and contaminated 6,987m2 of the coastal area within the Lungkeng Ecological Conservation Preservation Area.
The wreck of the Amorgos is still at the bottom of waters off Kenting. The original wreck-removal plan was deemed unfeasible after it broke up and sank after typhoons last summer.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has not yet decided as to whether a new wreck-removal plan should be pursued.
Ministry officials said that the remains pose no environmental risk, because the ship's fuel oil and cargo of iron ore have already been removed.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
RSS