Taiwan's first domestically built submarine is almost certain to miss the date that sea trials were scheduled to begin, with only one day remaining until the deadline.
According to the timeline set by the Ministry of National Defense (MND), sea trials for the Hai Kun (海鯤), or “Narwhal,” Taiwan's Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) prototype, were supposed to begin this month and be completed by Sept. 30.
Photo: Taipei Times
"April was the original goal... We are currently working on improvements and final calibrations to meet the requirements set for sea trials. That is our main goal," navy Chief of Staff Chiu Chun-jung (邱俊榮) said yesterday at an MND news conference when asked whether the schedule had been delayed.
Pressed to say whether the MND would fail to deliver on its word, Chiu said the navy is focusing on reaching the "technology readiness level required for the vessel to go out to sea, not on the schedule."
The MND had said on several occasions that sea trials would begin this month, in response to news reports that tests regarding the Hai Kun had experienced setbacks.
On Feb. 26, it said that harbor trials were on schedule and sea trials would proceed as planned this month, amid reports of potential testing delays due to voltage surges from a land-based power supply used in testing causing some components in the submarine to fail.
The IDS program has faced several delays.
Three days prior to the unveiling of the prototype at a photo op attended by then-president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) in September 2023, Huang Shu-kuang (黃曙光), then convener of the program, said the prototype would undergo a harbor acceptance test beginning on Oct. 1, 2023.
That would be followed by a sea acceptance test, and the submarine would hopefully be delivered to the navy before the end of last year, Huang said.
At some point last year, the scheduled delivery was pushed back by about a year, to November.
Given that timing, and the MND's acknowledgement in September last year that the Haikun had failed more than 10 categories in the harbor trials, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People's Party took aim at the submarine's budget in January.
Lawmakers from the two parties voted to freeze NT$2 billion (US$61.91 million) of the funding proposed for this fiscal year for the IDS program, or about half of the proposed total, with the proviso that the funds can only be unfrozen after the submarine passes the sea trials.
Chiu said yesterday that the funding would be unfrozen if sea trials are finished on time and the MND gives a briefing about them at the legislature.
Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) told reporters at the legislature last week that the submarine's contractor, CSBC Corp, is to face a fine if it fails to deliver the sub to the navy in November, as per the contract.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
RSS