Two separate incidents of civilian ships colliding with the navy’s Keelung-class destroyers an hour apart yesterday morning are under investigation, navy officials said, adding that there were no casualties.
At 7:35am yesterday, the Keelung (DDG-1801) ran into a fishing boat, the "Chin Fu En" (金福恩), that was entering Suao harbor, denting the stern of the fishing boat, the navy said.
The navy estimated that the accident might have cost the owner of the "Chin Fu En" more than NT$100,000 in losses.
Photo: Huang Hsu-lei, Taipei Times
Another warship, the "Tsoying" (DDG-1803), was berthed at the No. 10 pier of Kaohsiung’s Cijin Harbor (旗津) when the Panama-registered tanker "Everrich 3," which was making a turn, clipped its stern at about 8:30am, the navy said.
The navy said it has asked the Maritime Port Bureau’s Kaohsiung branch to investigate the cause of the accident and would demand compensation from "Everrich 3."
All naval vessels have been advised to be on heightened alert and risk awareness, it added.
Photo: Chang I-chen, Taipei Times
It was the first time that two accidents involving warships occurred on the same day and follows a series of naval incidents this year, including a missile patrol boat colliding with a fishing boat off the coast of New Taipei City’s Rueifang District (瑞芳) in March and a Ching Chiang-class patrol boat scratching the embankment at the Port of Taipei in June.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Kuo-shu (黃國書) said at a legislative session that the Ministry of National Defense must report on the incident.
Minister of National Defense Feng Shih-kuan (馮世寬) said the incident at Suao was caused by fishing boats wanting to “race” naval vessels out of harbor.
Photo: Huang Hsu-lei, Taipei Times
Feng attributed it to the local custom of “racing the bow” (搶船頭), as Taiwanese fishermen believe that they would have a bountiful catch if they left the harbor before a larger ship, with military ships presenting an even greater bonus.
The ministry has negotiated with fishermen’s associations over the practice in order to reduce such accidents, he said.
However, according to Suao port authorities, the "Chin Fu En" left the port on Monday evening and was returning to the port yesterday mroning when it ran into the naval vessel.
Feng said the ministry would make a formal report on the recent incidents and propose improvement measures as Huang asked.
PREPAREDNESS: Given the difficulty of importing ammunition during wartime, the Ministry of National Defense said it would prioritize ‘coproduction’ partnerships A newly formed unit of the Marine Corps tasked with land-based security operations has recently replaced its aging, domestically produced rifles with more advanced, US-made M4A1 rifles, a source said yesterday. The unnamed source familiar with the matter said the First Security Battalion of the Marine Corps’ Air Defense and Base Guard Group has replaced its older T65K2 rifles, which have been in service since the late 1980s, with the newly received M4A1s. The source did not say exactly when the upgrade took place or how many M4A1s were issued to the battalion. The confirmation came after Chinese-language media reported
The Taiwanese passport ranked 33rd in a global listing of passports by convenience this month, rising three places from last month’s ranking, but matching its position in January last year. The Henley Passport Index, an international ranking of passports by the number of designations its holder can travel to without a visa, showed that the Taiwan passport enables holders to travel to 139 countries and territories without a visa. Singapore’s passport was ranked the most powerful with visa-free access to 192 destinations out of 227, according to the index published on Tuesday by UK-based migration investment consultancy firm Henley and Partners. Japan’s and
A Ministry of Foreign Affairs official yesterday said that a delegation that visited China for an APEC meeting did not receive any kind of treatment that downgraded Taiwan’s sovereignty. Department of International Organizations Director-General Jonathan Sun (孫儉元) said that he and a group of ministry officials visited Shenzhen, China, to attend the APEC Informal Senior Officials’ Meeting last month. The trip went “smoothly and safely” for all Taiwanese delegates, as the Chinese side arranged the trip in accordance with long-standing practices, Sun said at the ministry’s weekly briefing. The Taiwanese group did not encounter any political suppression, he said. Sun made the remarks when
BROAD AGREEMENT: The two are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff to 15% and a commitment for TSMC to build five more fabs, a ‘New York Times’ report said Taiwan and the US have reached a broad consensus on a trade deal, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations said yesterday, after a report said that Washington is set to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent. The New York Times on Monday reported that the two nations are nearing a trade deal to reduce Taiwan’s tariff rate to 15 percent and commit Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) to building at least five more facilities in the US. “The agreement, which has been under negotiation for months, is being legally scrubbed and could be announced this month,” the paper said,
RSS