shipping

Tugboat racing against typhoon after Chinese cargo ship abandoned by crew off Taiwan’s north coast

Cargo ship at anchor off New Taipei City coast
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

A Chinese cargo ship was abandoned by its crew less than one kilometer from the coast of northern Taiwan last night, and has been left at anchor as a typhoon approaches the island today, October 30. The platform cargo ship Yuzhou Qihang left Keelung Harbor at around 8:00 am yesterday, in an attempt to cross the Taiwan Strait ahead of the approaching Typhoon Kong-rey. However, the top-heavy vessel, loaded with three massive bridge cranes, failed to make headway in high

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Taiwan shipbuilder demonstrates self-righting ship

self-righting ship demonstration
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Taiwan shipbuilder Longteh Shipbuilding Company successfully tested a self-righting ship on April 17. Longteh confirmed the news after a video of the ship launch went viral on social media, according to reports today, April 24. Longteh said the test was performed at the Port of Su’ao in Yilan County. Video footage of the test shows the ship being turned upside down in the water before automatically righting itself in less than 10 seconds. Longteh, which is a major shipping manufacturer

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Freighter catches fire at Port of Kaohsiung: one crewman rescued from water

burning ship with water canon focused on flames
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

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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Hundreds of empty containers create shipping hazard after ship sinks near Taiwan’s largest port

containers adrift after ship sinks
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

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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Container ship listing dangerously off the Port of Kaohsiung

Container ship ANGEL listing dangerously off the Port of Kaohsiung Taiwan
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

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

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Maritime pilots face mandatory alcohol testing following container ship accident at Taiwanese port

composite image showing ship's bow and damage to wharf pier
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A pilot who was found to be drunk on the job after a container ship slammed into a wharf at the Port of Kaohsiung, Monday, March 20, will not be charged by police, but all maritime pilots in Taiwan will face mandatory alcohol breath testing before starting work following the incident. According to Taiwan’s Chinese language press, Mr Hsu, the pilot in charge of guiding the 74,651-ton vessel Hyundai Tokyo, was found to have an alcohol level of 0.19 mg/l

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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

composite image of ship and oil containers
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

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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Evergreen Marine ship EVER FORWARD finally moving after one month stuck aground in Chesapeake Bay

Evergreen Marine Corp. container ship Ever Forward being pushed by tugs in Chesapeake Bay
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A container ship belonging to Taiwan shipping giant Evergreen Marine Corp. has finally been refloated after running aground in Chesapeake Bay on the US east coast more than one month ago. The 334-meter-long, 117,340 gross ton Ever Forward ran aground on a muddy bottom after leaving the Port of Baltimore and “missing a turn” on March 13. The grounding came just 10 days short of the anniversary of Evergreen’s Ever Given getting stuck and blocking the Suez Canal from March

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2 bodies found after Korean tug goes missing in the Taiwan Strait

Unpowered ship section after push tug missing in the Taiwan Strait
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Taiwan’s National Coast Guard Administration personnel recovered two bodies this morning during a search for a Korean-owned pusher tug with six crew aboard that went missing after sending a distress call yesterday, April 8. The Sierra Leone-flagged tug Kyoto No. 1 was en route from the Port of Busan, Korea to Batam, Indonesia via the Taiwan Strait when the crew sent a distress signal from a position close to the Penghu Islands at 9:50 am, Thursday. Taiwan’s National Rescue Command

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Evergreen container ship “Ever Forward” hasn’t budged for 17 days since grounding on US east coast

Evergreen Marine Ever Forward container ship aground on US east coast with US Coast Guard vessel and personnel in foreground
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An Evergreen container ship is still stuck after several attempts to move it, including dredging the muddy bottom, since it ran aground more than two weeks ago. The 334-meter-long 12,000 TEU Ever Forward, owned by Evergreen Hong Kong, a subsidiary of Taiwanese shipping and transportation giant Evergreen Marine Corporation, became stranded after grounding in shallow water north of Chesapeake Bay, shortly after leaving the Port of Baltimore on March 13 bound for Norfolk, Virginia. The vessel and cargo did not

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World’s biggest container ship makes maiden Suez Canal passage

Evergreen Marine Ever Ace Suez Canal
Business and Economy Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Taiwan shipping company Evergreen Marine’s newest container ship “Ever Ace” successfully passed through the Suez Canal yesterday, breaking a record for the largest container ship to pass through the waterway. At 400 meters long, 61.5 meters wide, and weighing 235,000 tons, the 23,992 TEU container ship became the world’s largest when it was launched at South Korea’s Samsung Heavy Industries shipyard last month. The Ever Ace traversed the Suez Canal on its maiden voyage to Europe en route to the

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