Taiwan is to hold emergency response drills for seven passenger and cargo ships in the wake of the South Korean ferry disaster on Wednesday last week, the Maritime and Ports Bureau said, adding that the drills are to be completed within one month.
As of yesterday evening, the death toll from the South Korean ferry sinking had risen to 58, with rescuers continuing to search for more than 200 missing people.
The bureau said it had met with representatives of China Corporation Register of Shipping, Ship and Ocean Industries Research and Development Center, as well as disaster search and rescue professionals on Friday to review the nation’s maritime safety measures.
The most important decision made at the meeting was that five Taiwanese ferries and two cargo ships must undergo emergency response drills within a month, the bureau said.
The vessels are the Taima Ferry (台馬輪), which operates between Taiwan and Matzu, the Taihua (台華輪) and Hofu ferries (合富輪) between Taiwan and Penghu, Natchan Rera (麗娜輪) between Keelung and Hualien and Taimin Star (台閩之星) between Taiwan and China’s Fujian Province, as well as Cosco Star (中遠之星) and Haixiaohao (海峽號), two regular shipping services registered in China, which are to be checked to ensure they are equipped with facilities to cope with emergency situations.
Aside from the emergency response drills, attendants at the meeting agreed that the shipping firms should enhance the broadcasts of films demonstrating how passengers can safely exit the ships in case of an emergency and should regularly stage drills.
Meanwhile, the bureau also launched a safety inspection program to cover passenger ships docking in the nation’s seaports.
The bureau’s director-general and deputy director-general supervised the inspection of the Taima Ferry as well as cruise liner Superstar Aquarius of Hong Kong-based Star Cruises at the Keelung Port on Friday.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS