The crew of a Cameroonian bulk carrier fled, and at least one man was forced to jump into the water, after a fire broke out on the ship while it was under repairs at a wharf in the Port of Kaohsiung, yesterday, September 13. Kaohsiung City Fire department received reports of a fire at the Jong Shyn Shipbuilding terminal at 3:54 pm. Video footage from the scene showed fierce flames and thick black smoke emanating from the cabin and rear
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Leatherback sea turtle dies after ingesting fishing line
Hengchun, Taiwan – A leatherback turtle found stranded on the coast of Pingtung County in southern Taiwan in July died of starvation due to fishing line stuck in its digestive tract, an autopsy revealed. Taiwan’s Ocean Affairs Council released autopsy results indicating that the cause of death was necrotizing enteritis, as the turtle’s stomach was empty, and its intestinal tract contained a total of 425 centimeters of fishing line. This obstruction led to folding and twisting in the lower digestive
Read moreOil spill from sunken freighter contaminates popular bathing beach in southern Taiwan
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
Read moreTugboat sinks after collision with ferry in Matsu Islands harbor
Five people were rescued from a sinking boat after a tug collided with a ferry and sank in Fu’ao Harbor in the Matsu Islands this morning. According to reports, the tugboat No.13302 was helping the Taima Star ferry out of the harbor when the collision occurred at around 10:00 am. The tugboat began taking on water and tilted sideways before sinking around 13 minutes later. An oil slick formed immediately after the sinking and coast guard officers deployed oil booms
Read moreHundreds of empty containers create shipping hazard after ship sinks near Taiwan’s largest port
An estimated 600 shipping containers are adrift off Taiwan’s southern coast after a container ship sank near the Port of Kaohsiung yesterday, July 21. The Palau-registered ANGEL sank early Friday morning after the crew were evacuated from the ship as it began listing dangerously after a suspected breach of the hull Thursday. An estimated 500-600 of the more than 1,300 empty containers aboard the ship remained afloat after the vessel sank around 2.8 nautical miles from the south embankment of
Read moreContainer ship listing dangerously off the Port of Kaohsiung
The crew of a container ship abandoned the vessel and were rescued by the coast guard this morning after the ship began to take water and listed dangerously 2.8 nautical miles outside the Port of Kaohsiung. Taiwan’s National Coast Guard Administration (CGA) received reports that the 16,145-gross-ton Palauan-flagged vessel ANGEL was in distress at around 9:00 am. Nineteen crew abandoned ship and were picked up by coast guard patrol boats, including one injured. According to reports, 6 containers fell into
Read moreMurder on the high seas: fishing boat crew 47 days at sea with alleged killer locked in hold
A man was arrested when a fishing boat docked in Kaohsiung, 47 days after he is suspected of stabbing a fellow crewman to death on the Taiwanese-flagged vessel while operating in the Indian Ocean. The Criminal Investigation Bureau revealed yesterday, Tuesday, June 20, that an investigation was launched after it was reported that a Vietnamese crew member on the Taiwanese fishing vessel Fengguo No. 616 had stabbed an Indonesian crew member to death during an argument while the ship was
Read moreIf you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em: alien invaders incorporated into local cuisine
A restaurant in Nantou County is serving up a dish featuring giant snakehead fish caught in Sun Moon Lake, in the hope that creating a market will help reduce numbers of the ecologically destructive invasive species. Local angler Huang Hsiaosi made news headlines earlier this week when he caught 14 of the voracious predator fish in a 9-hour overnight fishing session on Sun Moon Lake using live carp as bait. Huang said that a total of 29 fish took the
Read moreRare “living fossil” goblin shark caught off Taiwan’s east coast purchased by museum
Fishermen operating out of Nanfang’ ao Fishing Port in Yilan County caught a rare deep-sea goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) yesterday, and it will be used as an educational exhibit after it was purchased by a museum. The 800-kilogram, 4.7-meter-long goblin shark was caught at a depth of 8oo meters in a bottom-trawl net, drawing criticism from some quarters. The fact that the shark carried six unborn babies in its womb made critics even angrier. According to the Fisheries Agency of
Read moreTaiwan coast guard deploys elite unit for high-speed intercepts of Chinese speedboats
Taiwan’s National Coast Guard Administration has deployed a team of elite special forces equipped with high-speed assault boats to intercept Chinese poachers using speedboats to evade larger coast guard vessels around islands close to the coast of China. The Kinmen-Matsu-Penghu Branch of the coast guard has dispatched the Special Task Unit to Dongyin Island, Taiwan’s northernmost territory, to combat an expected influx of Chinese poachers during the summer season. Fish poachers from the coast of China usually take advantage of
Read more“When Worlds Collide: A Formosan Black Bear’s Deadly Dance with Civilization” wins Gold at Houston Film Fest
A documentary film about a Formosan black bear that was rescued from animal traps multiple times before finally being fatally shot by hunters won the Gold Award in the Documentary Feature Film category of the 56th Houston Film Festival, and is available to be watched for free on multiple platforms. The film documents the life of a bear dubbed 711/568 by wildlife researchers, beginning with the animal being rescued from a wire snare in the mountains of Taitung County, October
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