The navy, has recovered and defused the torpedo that went out of control during the Hankuang No. 19 military exercise on Sept. 4.
There was a realistic chance of the torpedo exploding during the defusing process, as it still had some stored battery power which, though not great enough to drive the device, could have triggered an explosion if not carefully and properly handled, sources said.
The Navy General Headquarters acknowledged yesterday that defusing the torpedo was indeed a dangerous job, but that it had to be done because authorities needed the torpedo intact.
"We want to find out why the torpedo went out of control during the military exercise. This is why we did not detonate the torpedo, which would have been a safer option," said a Navy General Headquarters press officer.
"The torpedo is currently being examined at Tsoying base in Kaohsiung. No results are available at the moment," the officer said.
The torpedo was the first live one that the navy had fired from a submarine. It was a German-made SUT heavyweight wire-guided model, which the navy bought over a decade ago with the help of Indonesia.
On Sept. 4, as the SUT torpedo was fired at a target ship from a Dutch-made submarine, the wire that connected it to the submarine broke for reasons yet to be determined.
The out-of-control torpedo became an immediate threat to the submarine and surface ships that guarded the waters outside the exercise zone off Ilan.
The submarine responded quickly and dived to a great depth, while the surface ships sped away from the scene at high speed.
The torpedo was found that evening by civilians at a beach around 15 to 16km from where the exercise was held.
The navy had no previous experience in handling an unexploded torpedo. It had only a short list of personnel that could possibly disarm the weapon.
Officers initially planned to detonate the torpedo at the beach, which was a safe and quick option. The plans included exploding the weapon by firing at it with machine guns from a distance.
The detonation plans were dropped for fears that the explosion might be big enough to cause unexpected damage, the navy said.
The alternative was to carry the torpedo to an offshore point, where specialized personnel could defuse it.
The navy selected a small group of bomb specialists, the best in the service, for the task.
A naval official, who spoke in private, said it might be time for the navy or other armed services to seriously consider how to best protect service members while executing dangerous missions.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
RSS