The Environmental Protection Administration said yesterday that Taiwan has received NT$61.3 million in compensation for the cleanup of an oil spill, caused last year by the Greek-registered MV Amorgos. The payment marks the first time the nation has received compensation for marine pollution.
The compensation is for the cleanup only and does not include damages or lawyers' fees.
"The real battle has just begun. We will continue to demand around NT$900 million in compensation [for damages] from the insurance company," said EPA administrator Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) at a press conference yesterday.
"We have no doubt that the polluters will pay the price," Hau said.
Yesterday's sum was the result of long-term negotiations between Taiwan and the ship's insurance company, the Assuranceforeningen Gard-Gjensidig.
The EPA's estimate of the money spent on cleaning up the spill -- based on reports from different agencies, including the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Council of Agriculture, the Construction and Planning Administration and the Pingtung County Government -- came to about NT$93 million.
Coordinated by the International Tanker Owners Pollution Federation Ltd (
The EPA said the difference in the compensation paid and the EPA's original estimate could be attributed to differing views between the two parties over unit prices for various aspects of the clean up.
Hau said that seeking compensation for damages would be more challenging than for the cleanup because the losses are more difficult to estimate. Hau said he hopes to receive the compensation by the end of this year.
"I have to say that money cannot make up for damaged environment," Hau said, adding that if no conclusion is made by this year, Taiwan might file a lawsuit in Norway, where the insurance company is registered.
As for losses to the fishing industry, EPA officials said that the Pingtung District Fishermen's Association had decided to seek compensation on its own and not through governmental channels.
On Jan. 14 last year, the MV Amorgos, on its way from Indonesia to China, ran aground near Kenting National Park in Pingtung County due to bad weather. Four days later, 1,150 tonnes of fuel oil remaining on the ship began to spill and contaminated 6,987m2 of the coastal area within the Lungkeng Ecological Conservation Preservation Area.
The wreck of the Amorgos is still at the bottom of waters off Kenting. The original wreck-removal plan was deemed unfeasible after it broke up and sank after typhoons last summer.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications has not yet decided as to whether a new wreck-removal plan should be pursued.
Ministry officials said that the remains pose no environmental risk, because the ship's fuel oil and cargo of iron ore have already been removed.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS