The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed amendments to legislation governing ships, ports, meteorological facilities and telecommunications following the Executive Yuan’s push to update the nation’s undersea-cable laws.
The changes to the Shipping Act (船舶法), Meteorological Act (氣象法), Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法) and Commercial Port Act (商港法) are aimed at strengthening protections for submarine cables, which the government said could pose a threat to national security if cut or otherwise damaged.
The amendments to the Shipping Act require Taiwanese vessels and certain foreign vessels operating within the nation’s territorial waters and designated prohibited waters to keep their automatic identification system (AIS) functioning normally and transmit accurate vessel identification information.
Photo: CNA
Taiwanese vessels required to install AIS must correctly transmit their names, International Maritime Organization (IMO) ship identification numbers, Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) codes and vessel call signs while at sea or anchored, the updated law stipulates.
Non-Taiwanese vessels operating in Taiwanese waters and designated prohibited waters are also required to display correct vessel names and IMO ship identification numbers on their hulls, and those markings may not be damaged, altered or concealed, it says.
In addition, non-Taiwanese vessels of 150 gross tonnage or more must maintain logbooks that accurately record navigation activities and any accidents, it says.
Contraventions of the Shipping Act provisions may result in fines of NT$30,000 to NT$10 million (US$953 to US$317,713) imposed on the vessel owner or captain.
The changes to the Meteorological Act introduce penalties for negligently damaging or illegally endangering the normal functioning of meteorological facilities and equipment.
Such offenses are punishable by up to six months in prison or a fine of up to NT$2 million under the updated act.
The amendments further allow for confiscation of tools, vessels or other machinery involved in such crimes, regardless of ownership.
The amendments to the Telecommunications Management Act authorize confiscation of tools, vessels and machinery used to steal, damage or otherwise illegally endanger equipment relating to undersea cables, including undersea cable landing points and satellite communication centers.
Under the revised Commercial Port Act, vessels moored in a commercial port area that obstruct berth allocation or port area safety may be ordered to leave the port within three months.
If a vessel fails to comply with relocation or departure orders without legitimate reason, authorities may confiscate the vessel.
Furthermore, foreign merchant vessels detained for serious violations may be confiscated if discrepancies in vessel registration, vessel certificates or other identification information are not corrected within three months, it says.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
Taiwan is still in the process of assessing the possibility of recruiting workers from Eswatini, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, adding that its goal is to help Eswatini upgrade its vocational training centers. If there are plans to recruit workers from Eswatini, safeguarding national security, protecting public health and ensuring the employment rights of Taiwanese would be prerequisites, Department of West Asian and African Affairs Director-General Yen Chia-liang (顏嘉良) told a news conference. Key considerations would also include filling labor shortages in specific industries, and fostering bilateral professional and technical exchanges, he said. Yen was asked about the progress of labor
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
A US uncrewed surface vessel (USV) encountered multiple Chinese warships during an autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait, US defense company Seasats said in a statement on Wednesday. Seasats announced that a Lightfish USV had completed the first autonomous transit of the Taiwan Strait. Over five days, the USV traversed the entire length of the Strait while constantly monitoring surface vessel traffic, the company said. The Lightfish encountered multiple Chinese warships, one of which was a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) Type 056 corvette, it said. The Chinese vessels were operating “well within Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone without transmitting their identity via the
RSS