The Institute of Transportation (IOT) yesterday announced that it has developed a system allowing seamen to report emergency situations to personnel onshore.
Institute researcher Horng Shiann-jorng (洪憲忠) said that many shipping firms have adopted automatic navigation systems, which in turn causes them to reduce the size of their onboard crews. However, ship crews may need assistance when they encounter technical problems at sea.
“The system becomes a platform where seamen and personnel onshore can speak to each other and jointly solve the problem,” he said.
The design of the system enables onshore personnel to monitor the statistics shown on the ship’s mainframe and compare them with diagrams they keep onshore, he said.
Onshore personnel can quickly identify if there is any abnormality, whether the ship is operating efficiently or needs to be docked for maintenance, he said.
The system would cost a shipping firm approximately NT$600,000 (US$18,900), which covers the computers, software and installation charges, Horng said.
If the system could be integrated into facilities already aboard a ship, the cost could potentially drop to NT$300,000, Horng said.
“Some shipping firms have spent more than NT$10 million purchasing similar equipment from overseas, and they have to spend additional charges on interpreting the results,” he said.
Horng said that the communication charges for the system were expected to be lowered by the end of this year, when the fleet broadband network would cover the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all