A 2,000 tonne patrol ship built by the nation’s largest private shipbuilder under a consignment contract with the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) was launched from a shipyard in Kaohsiung Harbor yesterday.
The ship, christened the Tainan, is the largest patrol ship the CGA has ordered.
The ship is 98.5m long, 13.2m at its widest and has a draft of 7.6m, with a maximum speed of 24 knots and a cruising range of more than 7,500 nautical miles (13,900km), said the builder, Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co.
PHOTO: CHANG CHUNG-I, TAIPEI TIMES
Addressing the launch ceremony, CGA Minister Wang Ginn-wang (王進旺) said the Tainan would substantially increase the CGA’s patrol capabilities and strength.
The CGA has ordered other large patrol ships and the next one, to be completed next year, will be christened Xinbei — the name to be given to Taipei County following its upgrade to a municipal city next year.
Jong Shyn Shipbuilding chairman Han Pi-hsiang (韓碧祥) said the company had received a contract from the CGA to build patrol boats for more than a decade, a deal that includes more than 20 ships with deadweights between 50 tonnes and 2,000 tonnes.
The Tainan can weather inclement conditions and accommodate 68 coast guard personnel for high-sea operations for a month, Han said.
It also has a helicopter landing platform on its main deck, he said.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS