oil spill

Cargo ship aground and leaking oil in Penghu Islands

oil spill in foreground, stranded ship in background
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Coast guard and environmental protection agency personnel are cleaning up and attempting to prevent spreading of an oil spill after a 499-ton cargo ship ran aground on Jibei Island in the Penghu archipelago. According to Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration, the Cameroonian-flagged general cargo ship, Hai Shou, en route from the Port of Kaohsiung to Busan, Korea, lost power and began drifting on Saturday, December 16. Attempts were made to anchor the ship, but strong winds caused the ship to continue

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Oil spill from sunken freighter contaminates popular bathing beach in southern Taiwan

tourists affected by oil spill on beach
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , , , ,

Beachgoers at Cijin Beach in Kaohsiung City yesterday were affected by an oil slick suspected to have come from a container ship that sank off the coast more than one month ago. Kaohsiung City Councilor Lina Chen was hosting an event promoting the wearing of lifejackets while beach bathing at around 3:00 pm when participants began reporting that they were affected by oil in the water and on the sand. Chen informed the Kaohsiung City Tourism Bureau and the Maritime

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Shipping company exempted from paying damages to fishing industry for 2016 oil spill

composite image of TS Lines freighter and oil pollution
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Taiwan’s High Court today ruled that the owners of a freighter that ran aground on the north coast in 2016, causing an oil spill, does not have to pay compensation to local fishermen as there is no proof of damage to the fishery. The TS Lines ship, TS Taipei ran aground on the coast in Shimen District on March 9, 2016, and began to break in half on March 24. The subsequent spill of heavy oil affected the coast of

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Oil refinery spill spreads to Kenting National Park beaches and coral reefs

oil slick Kenting National Park
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An oil spill from an offshore pipeline of the Dalin Oil Refinery in Kaohsiung City has spread to sensitive ecological coastal zones including the popular resort areas of Kenting and the Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County, according to reports this weekend. The Oceanic Conservation Department of the Ocean Commission issued a press release yesterday, June 25 saying that the ecology of precious coral reefs are in danger, and announcing that it will impose penalties on petroleum company CPC Corp. An

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Green Island Tainted by Oil Spill

oil contamination Green Island March 10, 2017
Environment Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

At least 8 kilometers of coastline on Green Island in Taitung County has been contaminated by heavy oil, according to reports verified by coast guard officials stationed on the island. Liberty Times Network reported that reports of the oil spill began around 7:00pm March 10. Taitung Environmental Protection Bureau sent a team to investigate the oil spill. Saturday morning March 11, investigators found that around 10 kilometers, or around one-third of the island’s coastline had been contaminated by heavy oil.

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Oil Spills Pose Environmental Threat After Typhoon

Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Ships cast adrift after cables snapped during Typhoon Meranti’s onslaught in southern Taiwan and Kinmen, now pose an environmental threat as oil spills from the stranded vessels. Authorities are struggling to contain oil spills in Kaohsiung’s Xiziwan (West Bay), and on the island of Kinmen (Golden Gate). Four Seine-Net fishing vessels whose cables snapped during the typhoon ran aground in Xiziwan, and oil spilling from the boats is threatening a nearby coral ecosystem. After viewing the site on September 15,

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Stranded Freighter Update

A platform set up to salvage oil from a stranded ship that is breaking up on Taiwan's north coast
Disaster Environment 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Legislators held a meeting today and announced plans to remove 9 containers of hazardous chemicals from a stranded freighter that is breaking up on the north coast of Taiwan. The Ministry of Transportation said the containers are secured to the ship with little chance of falling into the sea, and will be removed next week. The containers are secured in the front half of the ship, which is stable. The back half of the ship is tilting dangerously to seaward.

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EPA Preparing for Oil Spill as Freighter Breaks Up.

the grounded ship Te-hsiang Taipei (德翔臺北) on Taiwan's north-east coast
Environment 
Phillip Charlier 3 Comments , ,

Environmental Protection Authorities in Taiwan are preparing for an oil spill as freighter which ran aground March 10 has developed a large crack in the hull and looks to be breaking in half. About 242 cubic meters of heavy oil remain on board after recovery efforts were stopped due to bad weather. An oil boom has been put in place to prevent oil entering the cooling system of a nearby nuclear power-plant which depends on sea-water to cool the reactor.

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Grounded Ship Presents Serious Environmental Threats

A stranded ship near Taipei city
Disaster 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

An oil leak, the release of hazardous chemicals, and disruption of cooling facilities at a nearby nuclear reactor, are all potential threats posed by the grounding of a freighter near Shimen Township in the waters of New Taipei City. The T.S. Lines freighter, is grounded on rocks close to shore after losing power in bad weather shortly after departing from Keelung Harbor enroute to Hong Kong. Breaches to the hull resulted in flooding of the engine compartment and damage to

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