Ghost ship runs aground in Yilan County as tropical storm approaches

September 28, 2019September 28, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ghost ship, ship adrift, ship aground, Yilan County

A crewless Chinese freighter first spotted drifting off the coast of northeastern Taiwan yesterday, September 27, ran aground on a rocky shoreline outside Daxi Fishing Harbor in Yilan County today, September 28. According to United Daily News, Japanese authorities alerted Taiwan about the drifting ship Thursday, September 26, after it was spotted in Japanese waters. Japan also contacted maritime authorities in China, but received no response from the Chinese. Taiwan coast guard ships yesterday intercepted the ship 15.7 nautical miles

The freighter Ji Shun under power without a crew near Taiwan

Marine and Fisheries

September 22, 2019September 22, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment marine salvage, marine search and rescue, search and rescue, ship adrift

A 7,000-tonne freighter was towed to the Port of Kaohsiung today, after being abandoned by its crew northwest of Taiwan three days ago, and continuing under power, before drifting into the Taiwan Strait. At around 5:00am, Thursday, September 19, the National Search and Rescue Command Center received a distress call from the vessel Ji Shun, located around 50 nautical miles northwest of Cape Fugui. The captain informed the rescue center that he and his crew were preparing to abandon ship

farmers watch a mud volcano consume a rice field in Pingtung County, Taiwan, July 8, 2019

Environment

July 9, 2019July 9, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Mud volcano, Pingtung County, Wandan Township

A mud volcano in Pingtung County erupted yesterday, July 8, in a field adjacent to the site of the last eruption last year. Fortunately for the affected farmer, the field had already been harvested, but the Wandan Township government urgently dispatched an excavator to divert mud away from neighboring cropland. Mud spewed out to a height of over one meter during yesterday’s eruption. Farmers expressed the hope that the government would set up a system of subsidies for farmers affected

Marine and Fisheries

May 6, 2019May 6, 2019 Phillip Charlier 5 Comments hualien, megamouth shark

A megamouth shark caught by a fishing boat operating out of Hualien was sold to a restaurant after fishery authorities inspected the specimen and took samples today, May 6. The 3.5 meter long shark weighed in at 612 kilograms after being brought into port by the Xin-Shenbao 36 fishing vessel shortly after 6:00am this morning. The captain reported the catch to the Hualien Port Security Office, as required by law. After inspection and sampling, the shark was sold by auction

the last known female member of rafetus-swinhoei after dying at a zoo in China

Environment

April 14, 2019April 14, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Rafetus swinhoei, Yangtze giant softshell turtle

The Yangtze giant soft-shell turtle (Rafetus swinhoei) may become an extinct species after the only captive female, and one of only four known living individuals, died at a zoo in Suzhou City yesterday, April 13. The turtle, a member of the largest freshwater turtle species in the world, died after an attempt to artificially inseminate the more than 90-year-old specimen by a team of scientists, Friday, April 12. Chinese language media reports say that the turtle, which is listed as

Marine and Fisheries

March 21, 2019February 5, 2024 Phillip Charlier 16 Comments great white, Ilan, shark, Yilan County

A great white shark measuring over 4 meters long was delivered and sold at a fish market in Su’ao Township, Yilan County today, March 20, after being caught as bycatch off the northeast coast of Taiwan. The shark weighed in at 1170 kilograms and was sold by auction at a price of NT$50 (US$1.62) per kilogram for a total of NT$58,500 (US$1,898.90). The buyer, named as “Taiwan Ocean Art Museum” in various reports, appears to be a company engaged in

Marine and Fisheries

March 20, 2019March 20, 2019 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Cuvier's beaked whale, marine conservation, plastic, Taitung County, whale

A dead whale that washed up on a beach in Cheng-gong Township, Taitung County, March 15, was found to have a significant amount of plastic and other man-made materials in its stomach, after being dissected, yesterday, March 19. Researchers from the Ocean Conservation Administration, and the Taiwan Cetacean Society, said the 565-centimeter-long Cuvier’s beaked whale was pregnant, and contained a 165-centimeter-long fetus. Inside the stomach of the whale, the researchers found 6 plastic bags, 4 burlap bags, a piece of

stern section of grounded oil tanker after splitting in two

Marine and Fisheries

June 19, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment marine salvage, MT Shine Luck, Port of Kaohsiung, ship aground

One of two empty oil tankers that ran aground on the coast of Kaohsiung on June 14 broke into two pieces this morning, June 18. Fortunately, despite being hampered by continuing poor weather conditions, fuel oil was successfully removed from the vessel yesterday, and a major pollution incident was averted. The Panamanian-flagged MT Shine Luck and the Fiji-registered Winner 19 ran aground at around the same time last Thursday evening, as a tropical low that had almost reached typhoon strength

Marine and Fisheries

June 17, 2018June 18, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment marine salvage, Port of Kaohsiung, ship aground

[Picture: Maritime and Port Bureau] Fuel oil is being pumped from two oil tankers that ran aground on the coast of Kaohsiung June 14, but operations have been hampered by large swells and heavy rain today, June 17. Efforts to drain the ships stepped up today, but work had to frequently stop as waves continued to pound the MT Shine Luck, which is grounded against concrete wave-breakers. The Winner 19 is grounded on sand on Linyuan Beach, and while there

19 Winner oil tanker aground in Kaohsiung

Marine and Fisheries

June 15, 2018June 15, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment Port of Kaohsiung, ship aground

Kaohsiung Coast Guard Administration rescued a total of 32 crew members from two oil tankers that ran aground near the Port of Kaohsiung due to stormy weather yesterday evening, June 14. The Fiji-registered 19 Winner, and the Panama-flagged MT Shine Luck, both lost their moorings in high wind and heavy seas generated by a tropical low pressure system at around 8:00pm, and ran aground in shallow waters near Fengbitou. Fourteen crew, including the captain of the Fijian vessel, which was

turtles released into the ocean after rehabilitation

Marine and Fisheries

May 15, 2018 Phillip Charlier 0 Comment marine ecology, Penghu Islands, turtles

Penghu County Agriculture and Fisheries Bureau released 15 rehabilitated turtles back into the wild after inviting students from local elementary schools, National Penghu University of Science and Technology, and members of the general public to participate in the event this morning, May 15. Six of the turtles had hatched during the 2015 and 2016 breeding seasons, but had been too weak to climb out of the nest on their own. The juvenile turtles were now around 30 centimeters long, and

Environment

Ghost ship runs aground in Yilan County as tropical storm approaches

“Ghost ship” brought into port after drifting for three days

Wandan mud volcano erupts again on Pingtung County farmland

Rare megamouth shark caught off Taiwan’s east coast

Giant turtle faces extinction as last known female dies in a Chinese zoo

Big, pregnant great white shark caught off Taiwan’s north-east coast

Plastic garbage found in stomach of dead, pregnant whale

Fuel Oil Removed in Nick of Time as Grounded Ship Breaks Up

Oil Pumping Operation on Grounded Tankers Hampered by Bad Weather

Two Oil Tankers Aground Near Port of Kaohsiung

15 Rehabilitated Turtles Returned to the Sea