Operations to remove oil from two stranded ships in Taiwanese waters weeks after they ran aground finally began yesterday, the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) said.
The EPA said that it started draining the oil tanks on a cargo ship from Niue, which was stranded in waters in the northern part of Penghu County on Feb. 25, as well as the tanks of a Taiwanese vessel belonging to TS Lines Co (德翔海運), which ran aground on a shallow reef about 250m offshore of New Taipei City’s Shimen District (石門) on Thursday last week.
An environmental group discovered a small oil leak from the Niue ship on Monday last week, raising awareness to the potential for an ecological disaster to occur.
Department of Water Quality Director Yeh Chun-hung (葉俊宏) said that bad weather had been preventing authorities from removing the oil from the ships, but yesterday’s clearer weather allowed authorities to begin the long-delayed operations.
The EPA estimated that it would take two days to remove the 145 tonnes of diesel fuel from the Niue ship, and 12 days to remove the 407 tonnes of heavy crude oil from the TS Lines ship, Yeh said.
The EPA said that it would continue to monitor the sea, the vessels and removal operations with a surveillance drone.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
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