Taiwan International Ports Corp (TIPC) chairman Lee Hsien-yi (李賢義) is to lead a delegation to South Korea at the end of this month to sign a sister port agreement with the Busan Port Authority, the state-owned shipping company said yesterday.
Meanwhile, Seoul-based container shipping firm HMM Co is renewing its lease with TIPC to use wharfs Nos. 76 to 78 of Cargo Terminal No. 5 in the Port of Kaohsiung for 20 years, the port company said.
The South Korean container carrier is to invest NT$4.5 billion (US$142.1 million) over the next two years to deepen the wharves to accommodate cargo ships with 24,000 twenty-foot-equivalent unit (TEU) capacity, the port company said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan International Ports Corp
“Because of inflation, bank interest rate hikes and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the global economy has shown signs of weakening since the second half of last year. The economy has continued to weaken during the first half of this year. As the economy has yet to fully recover, we have accelerated the building of port facilities so we can be ready for business opportunities when the economy rebounds,” Lee said.
Cargo Terminal No. 7 at the Port of Kaohsiung was opened in May, to bolster the port’s service capacity for 24,000-TEU container ships, TIPC said.
New passenger terminals in the Port of Keelung and Port of Kaohsiung were also opened this year, in time for the recovery of the cruise ship market, the port company said.
During the first six months of this year, international cruise ships have stopped in ports around the country 128 times.
More cruise ships are scheduled to arrive during the second half of this year, TIPC said, adding that about 460,000 international visitors are to arrive by cruise ships this year.
More infrastructure projects are to be launched at five seaports in the next five months, including turning wharves Nos. 79 to 81 at the Port of Kaohsiung’s Cargo Terminal No. 5 over to Wanhai Lines, TIPC said.
To ensure a sustainable development of seaports, the port company said that it has used a computerized system to regulate vehicle traffic in seaports and monitor marine weather, adding that it has set a goal of reaching 50 percent of carbon neutrality by 2030 and full carbon neutrality by 2050.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
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