The Marine Port Bureau yesterday said that it is in the process of stipulating guidelines for the use of flotation devices at sea in a bid to reduce casualties caused by improper use.
The announcement came after two separate incidents off coasts in the nation’s northeast.
The first was last month, when a man surnamed Chen (陳) sailed out on a boat made of polystyrene foam to go fishing at night.
Chen’s boat was capsized after being hit by large waves.
He was found by coast guard personnel, but was reportedly reluctant to be taken ashore, wanting the coast guard to find his boat first.
Separately, on Wednesday last week, three men and a woman went fishing off the coast of Keelung in a polystyrene boat.
All four were tossed into the sea after the boat was struck by large waves.
Three of them were rescued, but one was found dead the next day.
Reports showed that the four leased the boat from a rental service that did not provide life jackets.
The bureau said that leisure activities in public waters are regulated by local government authorities.
Polystyrene foam boats, canoes, pedal boats or other flotation devices are not defined as ships that can be regulated by the Ships Act (船舶法), it said, although some local governments have stipulated rules for them.
The bureau has raised the issue with the Council of Agriculture’s Fisheries Agency, as many people use such craft to go fishing at sea.
The Fisheries Agency said that people fishing at sea are engaging in a leisure activity, so they should not be regulated as strictly as commercial fishing operations.
Rules regulating fishing as a leisure activity would have to be written by the administrative agency in charge of ocean affairs, which has yet to be established, the bureau said.
To ensure safety in public waters, the bureau said it has invited specialists from the Fisheries Agency, the Coast Guard Administration and local governments to draft guiding principles on the use of flotation devices, which would be incorporated into the rules stipulated by the local governments.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
RSS