Hundreds 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

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Freighter that sank off east coast has more than 80,000 liters of oil and petroleum products aboard: too deep to salvage

Taiwan port and maritime authorities are monitoring an area off the coast of Taitung County after a freighter carrying 81,000 liters of oil and petroleum products sank after a collision with another ship two days ago. The Taitung-based freighter Dafa No.1 sank 16.2 nautical miles southeast of Fugang Harbor after a collision with the Liberian-flagged oil tanker, Lia, shortly after midnight April 26. See previous story: Taiwanese freighter sinks after collision with oil tanker: crew of 9 rescued Yesterday, it

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Crew rescued from grounded freighter: weather and sea conditions hamper salvage operations

A crew of 9 were lifted off a ship by crane after the vessel ran aground at Budai Port in Chiayi County yesterday, August 5. The crew lost control of the freighter Shanbao II, en route from Penghu Islands to Budai Port, when the rudder broke in heavy seas generated by tropical storm Lupit. The ship drifted into wave breaking blocks near the entrance to the port at around 3:00 pm Thursday afternoon. A rescue team employed a crane and

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Stranded ship left to mercy of typhoon after towing operation aborted

As Typhoon Mitag bears down on Taiwan’s northeast coast, harbor authorities decided to abort an operation to tow a 1,000 tonne freighter off the rocky shore at Daxi Harbor, Yilan County, yesterday, after an inspection team found that the hull had already been breached and had taken on water. The crewless, nameless, freighter ran aground Saturday, September 28, after drifting into Taiwan waters from the Yangtze River via the sea of Japan. Maritime authorities believe that the ship had been

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

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

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

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

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Oil Pumping Operation on Grounded Tankers Hampered by Bad Weather

[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

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