A whale-watching boat with 15 people aboard sank off the coast of Hualien yesterday after explosions were heard coming from the engine. All passengers aboard were rescued by a nearby vessel, maritime police said.
Officials from the Maritime Police Bureau (MPB --
The Hualien-registered Weijing (
Police officials from the MPB's Sixth Squadron (
"I heard three explosions and could smell what seemed to be burnt engine oil," said a rescued whale-watcher who identified himself only as Mr. Tsai. MPB officials said that Huatung No. 1 had originally intended to tow the Weijing back to port, but gave up later because the vessel was sinking rapidly. Officials said that the Weijing, a newly completed 20-ton whale-watching boat with a maximum speed of 70 kilometers per hour, was licensed to begin business operations in June of this year.
However, captain Jiang told the police yesterday that several mechanical problems had occurred in the past four months, including diesel and water leakages, as well as bursting high-pressure fuel oil pipes.
Jiang told police that all the problems could be attributed to poor mechanical design, and not operational faults.
But critics said the sinking of the Weijing yesterday reflects the unsound management of the recreational boating industry in Taiwan. According to the Taiwan Cetacean Society (TCS, 中華鯨豚協會), a whale research institute at National Taiwan University (NTU), whale-watching tourism has boomed since it began in 1997.
Currently there are estimated to be more than twenty professional whale-watching boats in Taiwan. These also include watercraft used for deep sea fishing trips.
Whales have been listed as protected animals in Taiwan since 1990, prompting whale researchers -- distressed by the conflicting interests of animal protection and the development of the marine tourism industry -- to call for measures ensuring proper, professional management. Among them, Chou Lien-hsiang (周蓮香), a zoology professor at NTU, who established TCS, has provided guidelines for tour operators as well as tips for rescuing stranded marine mammals.
According to Chou, more than 60,000 whale-watchers head out to sea off the east coast every year in Taiwan, and she believes whale-watching tourism could become one of Taiwan's most promising recreational activities if the government could establish sound management practices.
"In terms of sustainable development, the government should supervise and evaluate activities related to cetacean protection and whale-watching," said Chou.
Chou suggested establishing a government-owned whale research center to organize protection for the cetaceans.
According to TCS, there are currently four government administrative units under the Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications involved in making laws relating to whale-watching recreation.
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