The latest photographs and video clips of the nation’s indigenous defense submarine prototype show it is progressing through harbor tests and likely to meet its scheduled November delivery deadline, a Taiwanese defense expert said.
The submarine was spotted on Saturday undergoing trials at a southern harbor, with a source close to the matter confirming that the tests were part of the final stage of harbor trials before sea trials.
The confirmation followed the release of photographs and video showing the Hai Kun (海鯤), or “Narwhal,” leaving CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s dock at the Port of Kaohsiung on Saturday afternoon.
Photo courtesy of CSBC Corp, Taiwan
The vessel was seen sailing slowly around the port with more than 10 technicians on board its deck.
An unnamed military source said the tests were part of the final stage of the ongoing harbor acceptance tests, adding that the submarine was undergoing power-related system tests.
If everything goes as planned, the harbor acceptance tests would be completed, they said.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the last time the Hai Kun was spotted leaving CSBC’s floating dock in April, the submarine was pulled by a work boat instead of sailing on its own.
That it was sailing on its own means tests have been conducted on its engine, stern and engineering systems, he said.
Video clips also showed that the draft of the submarine — the depth of the vessel below the waterline — is deeper than in its previous round of tests in April, Su said.
A deeper draft means all the key equipment has been installed with fuel functions operational, indicating the harbor acceptance test is almost completed, and the Hai Kun could soon move on to the sea test, he said.
The submarine’s sea test was supposed to begin in April and be completed by Sept. 30 to meet the November delivery deadline, according to the original timeline set by the Ministry of National Defense.
However, media reports have repeatedly detailed setbacks to the schedule.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Taiwan is to have nine extended holidays next year, led by a nine-day Lunar New Year break, the Cabinet announced yesterday. The nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year matches the length of this year’s holiday, which featured six extended holidays. The increase in extended holidays is due to the Act on the Implementation of Commemorative and Festival Holidays (紀念日及節日實施條例), which was passed early last month with support from the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party. Under the new act, the day before Lunar New Year’s Eve is also a national holiday, and Labor Day would no longer be limited
The first tropical storm of the year in the western North Pacific, Wutip (蝴蝶), has formed over the South China Sea and is expected to move toward Hainan Island off southern China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said today. The agency said a tropical depression over waters near the Paracel and Zhongsha islands strengthened into a tropical storm this morning. The storm had maximum sustained winds near its center of 64.8kph, with peak gusts reaching 90kph, it said. Winds at Beaufort scale level 7 — ranging from 50kph to 61.5kph — extended up to 80km from the center, it added. Forecaster Kuan Hsin-ping
COMMITMENTS: The company had a relatively low renewable ratio at 56 percent and did not have any goal to achieve 100 percent renewable energy, the report said Pegatron Corp ranked the lowest among five major final assembly suppliers in progressing toward Apple Inc’s commitment to be 100 percent carbon neutral by 2030, a Greenpeace East Asia report said yesterday. While Apple has set the goal of using 100 percent renewable energy across its entire business, supply chain and product lifecycle by 2030, carbon emissions from electronics manufacturing are rising globally due to increased energy consumption, it said. Given that carbon emissions from its supply chain accounted for more than half of its total emissions last year, Greenpeace East Asia evaluated the green transition performance of Apple’s five largest final
RSS