National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Deputy Minister Lin Minn-tsong (林敏聰) yesterday said that the two ships New Ocean Researcher 2 and New Ocean Researcher 3 had been ordered to return to Taiwan for inspection.
Lin made the remarks in response to lawmakers’ queries in the Legislative Yuan yesterday after the National Taiwan University (NTU)-operated New Ocean Researcher 1, the nation’s main scientific research vessel gathering marine data and conducting studies, lost power on Sunday last week and drifted for two days when sailing in waters south of Taiwan.
The incident, which endangered the ship’s crew and scientific team, received attention from lawmakers yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Hsiu-pao (陳秀寶) said the ship lost power when participating in a joint international project in the sea off the Philippines.
“It was very dangerous for them to be cast adrift for two days, and high waves made the ship heave and sway,” he said.
An initial assessment indicated the power cut was due to problems at the power distribution unit, which was unable to transmit electricity to the ship’s propulsion system, Lin said.
The recall order was made to the two sister ships so they could be inspected, as their power units are from the same contractor, he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Wan Mei-lin (萬美玲) said emergency calls were made to the Ships Affairs Office, the unit in charge of the ships’ communication and run by NTU’s Institute of Oceanography.
Wan said that no one answered the call and no contact was made with the NSTC office when the emergency took place, suggesting negligence at management levels within NTU and NSTC.
She and other lawmakers said there were other systematic problems caused by contractors that needed better scrutiny.
NTSC received the call on Nov. 13 from the Coast Guard Administration, but let time pass before acting, which led the ship’s crew to feel they were in danger, Lin said, adding that NTU should resolve its management of the research vessels.
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