Taiwan yesterday held a launching ceremony for its first domestically produced crane vessel, the Green Jade, to be used for offshore wind farm projects, with Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) saying it was a milestone in the nation’s push for green energy.
The 216.5m long ship is the second-largest of its kind in the world.
“The Green Jade provides the best tools and technologies for Taiwan to develop offshore wind power and promote energy transition,” Su said at the ceremony in Kaohsiung.
Photo: Hung Chen-hung, Taipei Times
The ceremony came as Taiwan on Wednesday unveiled a road map and strategies for achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
“As 16 of the world’s 20 best wind farms are in Taiwan, and the government is ... determined to move toward net zero carbon emissions by 2050, better technologies and tools are needed to develop offshore wind power,” Su said.
“The vessel’s launch will help to further accelerate Taiwan’s energy transition,” he added.
The heavy-lift and installation vessel, built by CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台灣國際造船) at its shipyard in Kaohsiung, has a crane capacity of 4,000 tonnes. The Green Jade can accommodate a crew of up to 160 people.
It is a NT$7.5 billion (US$261.28 million) investment commissioned by CSBC-DEME Wind Engineering Co (CDWE, 台船環海) to transport wind turbines, jackets, components and structures in a single shipment. CDWE is a joint venture between CSBC and Belgium-based Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering NV.
CSBC chairman Cheng Wen-lung (鄭文隆) said at the ceremony that the Green Jade is the nation’s first crane vessel for offshore wind farms, and the second-largest in the world.
The company expects to deliver the vessel to CDWE in the spring of next year, Cheng said.
From next year to 2025, the vessel would be used for the nation’s two offshore wind farms — the Hai Long (海龍) 2 and 3 projects and the Chong Neng (中能) project, CDWE said.
MAKING WAVES: China’s maritime militia could become a nontraditional threat in war, clogging up shipping lanes to prevent US or Japanese intervention, a report said About 1,900 Chinese ships flying flags of convenience and fishing vessels that participated in China’s military exercises around Taiwan last month and in January last year have been listed for monitoring, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ching-chin (謝慶欽) said yesterday. Following amendments to the Commercial Port Act (商港法) and the Law of Ships (船舶法) last month, the CGA can designate possible berthing areas or deny ports of call for vessels suspected of loitering around areas where undersea cables can be accessed, Oceans Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. The list of suspected ships, originally 300, had risen to about
DAREDEVIL: Honnold said it had always been a dream of his to climb Taipei 101, while a Netflix producer said the skyscraper was ‘a real icon of this country’ US climber Alex Honnold yesterday took on Taiwan’s tallest building, becoming the first person to scale Taipei 101 without a rope, harness or safety net. Hundreds of spectators gathered at the base of the 101-story skyscraper to watch Honnold, 40, embark on his daredevil feat, which was also broadcast live on Netflix. Dressed in a red T-shirt and yellow custom-made climbing shoes, Honnold swiftly moved up the southeast face of the glass and steel building. At one point, he stepped onto a platform midway up to wave down at fans and onlookers who were taking photos. People watching from inside
Japan’s strategic alliance with the US would collapse if Tokyo were to turn away from a conflict in Taiwan, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said yesterday, but distanced herself from previous comments that suggested a possible military response in such an event. Takaichi expressed her latest views on a nationally broadcast TV program late on Monday, where an opposition party leader criticized her for igniting tensions with China with the earlier remarks. Ties between Japan and China have sunk to the worst level in years after Takaichi said in November that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could bring about a Japanese
The WHO ignored early COVID-19 warnings from Taiwan, US Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Jim O’Neill said on Friday, as part of justification for Washington withdrawing from the global health body. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said that the US was pulling out of the UN agency, as it failed to fulfill its responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. The WHO “ignored early COVID warnings from Taiwan in 2019 by pretending Taiwan did not exist, O’Neill wrote on X on Friday, Taiwan time. “It ignored rigorous science and promoted lockdowns.” The US will “continue international coordination on infectious
RSS