A maritime internship vessel commissioned by the Ministry of Education on Monday docked in Tokyo Harbor, which Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) hailed as a milestone in maritime exchanges between Taiwan and Japan.
The Wind Rider (御風) — built by Taiwanese shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan to train Taiwanese students majoring in maritime and related fields — embarked on its maiden voyage from Kaohsiung on Wednesday last week. The voyage provided students hands-on training in operating a vessel.
Speaking inside the ship’s auditorium, Lee praised the students and instructors who worked on and operated the vessel during the five-day trip.
Photo: CNA
“It was significant that the Wind Rider’s maiden trip was to Japan,” Lee said. “It meant that Taiwan’s maritime education has entered a new era, and that Taiwan and Japan have reached a new milestone in maritime exchanges.”
The 9,680-tonne NT$1.65 billion (US$50.13 million) ship, furnished with advanced equipment, can cover longer distances and provide more training to Taiwanese students than previous vessels.
The Wind Rider is the third maritime training vessel built by Taiwan.
The first ship, a 600-tonne vessel completed in 1981, only sailed around Taiwan and between Taiwan proper and Penghu County, while the second vessel, a 1,846-tonne ship finished in 1994, only sailed to Okinawa, Japan, and back, limiting the training students received.
Asked whether Taiwan and Japan would engage in bilateral exchanges on maritime education, Ministry of Education Secretary-General Lin Po-chiao (林伯樵), who also welcomed the ship, said the two sides would discuss the matter.
He said he looked forward to the Wind Rider’s next voyages.
After spending two days in Japan, it would embark on a six-day journey to the Port of Kaohsiung.
“On the third day after its return, the Wind Rider will make its second voyage,” with 195 students from vocational high schools who would train inside three bridge simulators, Lin said.
“It will be a very lively session,” he added.
The ministry plans nine more trips for the Wind Rider this year, and the internship experience would only get better with time, he said.
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