All crew members of a ship carrying oil that ran aground near Taitung County’s Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) were airlifted to safety yesterday as authorities investigated reports that oil might have spilled from the vessel.
The multinational crew of 19 was picked up by National Airborne Service Corps helicopters before being taken to Orchid Island off the southeastern coast between 11am and 2pm, the Lanyu Township Office said.
The sailors were examined by medical personnel at the island’s health center and were all healthy, it said.
Photo courtesy of Lai Cheng-hsien via CNA
However, Lanyu Township Office Secretary Chou Li-chu (周孋珠) said via video link that oil had been detected in waters around the island’s coast, prompting the office to request the county’s environmental protection bureau to tackle the apparent slick.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said they received a report at 4:28am from Keelung Radio that the Barbados-registered Blue Lagoon cargo ship had run aground about 18 nautical miles (33.3km) from Lanyu.
The ship ran aground amid rough conditions brought about by Typhoon Krathon while sailing from the Port of Caofeidian in China’s Hebei Province to Singapore, the CGA said, adding the skipper issued an order to abandon ship at 5:38am as water started flooding in.
At that time, the 43,498-tonne vessel was carrying 19 crew members — seven Ukrainians, nine Egyptians and three Russians — as well as 67,500 tonnes of iron ore and 227 tonnes of a type of fuel oil known as VLSFO, the CGA said.
The Blue Lagoon is not the only vessel to have run aground in Taiwanese waters over the past few months.
Tainan in particular remains on high alert since three foreign cargo ships — Dopphin, Keta and Sophia — remain grounded near the coast since July, when Taiwan was hit by Typhoon Gaemi.
According to the Tainan Environmental Protection Bureau, the dismantling of Keta is ongoing while work on Dopphin is about to begin.
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS