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.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
A pro-Russia hacker group has launched a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack on the Taiwanese government in retaliation for President William Lai’s (賴清德) comments suggesting that China should have a territorial dispute with Russia, an information security company said today. The hacker group, NoName057, recently launched an HTTPs flood attack called “DDoSia” targeting Taiwanese government and financial units, Radware told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). Local tax bureaus in New Taipei City, Keelung, Hsinchu and Taoyuan were mentioned by the hackers. Only the Hsinchu Local Tax Bureau site appeared to be down earlier in the day, but was back
RSS