Environmentalists from Taiwan and China met on the outlying island of Kinmen yesterday to discuss emergency preparedness for oil spills, as marine pollution emerges as a major issue following since the launch of direct shipping links across the Taiwan Strait.
The environmental seminar, held at the National Kinmen Institute of Technology, discussed response strategies for possible oil spill emergencies in the Taiwan Strait, one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.
Speaking at the opening session, Fu Kun-cheng (傅崑成), director of the university’s Ocean Affairs Research Center, said that ships plying the Taiwan Strait travel in a north-south direction and that the number of vessels on the route has increased steadily since the opening of direct cross-strait shipping links.
“Against this backdrop, the probability of marine accidents has increased and we are holding this seminar as the first step toward cross-strait cooperation in the field of environmental protection,” Fu said.
He said the seminar should spur the establishment of a cross-strait cooperative mechanism for oil-spill prevention and emergency response mechanisms.
Chen Hsien-heng (陳咸亨), director of the Environmental Protection Administration’s Water Quality Protection Bureau, said that five vessels were grounded in waters off Taiwan’s southwestern coast during Typhoon Morakot in early August.
“Fortunately, there were no serious oil spills from those ships, but this should serve as a warning. With an average of 1,000 ships now plying the Taiwan Strait each day, we should be better prepared to tackle oil spills and other emergencies,” Chen said.
The two-day seminar has brought together some 120 marine pollution experts and academics from Taiwan and China to exchange views and experiences in addressing oil spill issues.
The 40-member Chinese delegation is headed by Li Yi (李義), deputy chairman of the ship pollution commission under the Chinese Institute of Navigation.
Seventeen papers on oil slick legislation on both sides, notable oil spills, emergency response strategies and technologies, and possible cross-strait cooperation on oil spill response will be presented and discussed at the symposium.
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