The National Academy of Marine Research yesterday announced a deal to open an ocean research branch in Keelung, as well as plans to construct three research vessels.
The branch at National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) would be the academy’s first research unit outside of Kaohsiung. The academy was established under the Ocean Affairs Council in April last year.
After signing a memorandum of understanding with the university’s Center of Excellence for the Oceans, academy president Chiu Yung-fang (邱永芳) said in a news release yesterday that the two institutions would collaborate on long-term monitoring of marine ecology and on a database.
Photo copied by Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
They plan to conduct joint research on the effects of environmental changes on marine ecology, deep-sea biodiversity and marine energy development, as well as collaborate on seismic surveys, the remote sensing of seawater by satellite and research vessel support, the academy said.
During its preparatory stage, the academy only had two or three researchers, but it has recruited more than 30 researchers from universities, the Academia Sinica and the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute (TORI), academy vice president Lin Ying-pin (林英斌) said.
The academy must still work with various schools to strengthen its capabilities, he added.
A plan to obtain research vessels from the TORI or other research institutions fell through, but the academy hopes to build its own fleet of vessels, Lin said.
The academy was dissuaded from constructing an 8,000-tonne research vessel for promoting research projects in the Arctic and other remote areas, he said, adding that many experts said it was too costly and would require too much maintenance.
“The plan is to construct three research vessels — 4,000 tonnes, 300 tonnes and 100 tonnes — for about NT$2 billion [US$69.02 million],” he said.
If the Executive Yuan approves the shipbuilding in time, it could start in 2022, he added.
The nation’s largest research vessels are the TORI’s 2,629-tonne Legend and the 2,155-tonne New Ocean Researcher 1 operated by National Taiwan University’s Institute of Oceanography.
Competition is not the motivation for a bigger ship, but the ambition to conduct research in more remote areas, Lin added.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
‘ANGRY’: Forgetting the humiliations and sacrifices of ‘the people of the Republic of China’ experienced disqualified Lai from being president, Ma Ying-jeou said Former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday criticized President William Lai (賴清德) over what he called “phrasing that downplayed Japan’s atrocities” against China during World War II. Ma made the remarks in a post on Facebook on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II. Ma said he was “angry and disappointed” that Lai described the anniversary as the end of World War II instead of a “victory in the war of resistance” — a reference to the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). The eight-year war was a part of World War II, in which Japan and the other Axis
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday announced a ban on all current and former government officials from traveling to China to attend a military parade on Sept. 3, which Beijing is to hold to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second Sino-Japanese War. "This year marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the Republic of China’s victory in the War of Resistance [Against Japan]," MAC Deputy Minister and spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a regular news briefing in Taipei. To prevent Beijing from using the Sept. 3 military parade and related events for "united
‘OFFSHORE OPERATIONS’: Also in Dallas, Texas, the Ministry of Economic Affairs inaugurated its third Taiwan Trade and Investment Center to foster closer cooperation The 2025 Taiwan Expo USA opened on Thursday in Dallas, Texas, featuring 150 Taiwanese companies showcasing their latest technologies in the fields of drones, smart manufacturing and healthcare. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the event’s organizer, said the exhibitors this year include Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (Foxconn), the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer; AUO; PC brand Asustek Computer; and drone maker Thunder Tiger. In his opening speech, TAITRA chairman James Huang (黃志芳) said he expected Texas to become a world-class center for innovation and manufacturing as US technology companies from Silicon Valley and Taiwanese manufacturers form an industrial cluster
A 20-year-old man yesterday evening was electrocuted and fell to his death after he climbed a seven-story-high electricity tower to photograph the sunset, causing a wildfire on Datong Mountain (大同山) in New Taipei City’s Shulin District (樹林), the Taoyuan Police Department said today. The man, surnamed Hsieh (謝), was accompanied on an evening walk by a 20-year-old woman surnamed Shang (尚) who remained on the ground and witnessed the incident, capturing a final photograph of her friend sitting atop the tower before his death, an initial investigation showed. Shang then sought higher ground to call for help, police said. The New Taipei
RSS