The nation’s ability to conduct marine science, detect new energy sources and measure environmental change has suffered a major blow after a maritime research vessel sank on Friday, leaving two dead.
The Ocean Researcher V sank in stormy waters around 8:11pm, less than three hours after it first issued a distress call, said Chi Wen-jong (祁文中), director-general of the Maritime and Port Bureau.
The NT$1.46 billion (US$47.98 million), 2,700 tonne Ocean Researcher V is the largest research ship Taiwan owns, known for its state-of-the-art equipment and ability to operate in bad weather.
Photo montage: CNA
The ship had a remotely operated underwater vehicle that could descend to depths of 3,000m to search for the existence of fossil fuels such as natural gas and methane clathrate, experts said.
National Cheng Kung University marine technology professor Kao Chia-chuen (高家俊) said the ship was the most advanced maritime research vessel Taiwan had, and was mainly used for reef exploration.
Kao, who supervised the construction of the vessel, said findings by the ship could have contributed to Taiwan’s biofuel and hydrology studies, which were of great value to national security.
The ship collected and ignited high-density methane off southwest Taiwan last year, paving the way for the country’s energy exploration.
The ship was also able to analyze levels of marine pollutants and identify plate movements to assist in the prediction of earthquakes or tsunamis, experts said.
Besides the loss of hardware, the death of Hsu Shih-chieh (許世傑), a research fellow at the Academia Sinica, was also seen as a great loss to the field of marine science.
Hsu, 47, had spent the past decade studying marine particulate matter in the East China Sea and the South China Sea and was one of the top five experts in the field in Taiwan, said Liu Shaw-cheng (劉紹臣), director of the Research Center for Environmental Changes at Academia Sinica.
Another member of the crew, Lin Y-chun (林怡君), 30, passed away. According to her direct superior, the ship’s investigation division chief Yang Yi (楊益), Lin was very passionate about maritime affairs.
At a press conference yesterday, Minister of Science and Technology Simon Chang (張善政) stressed the importance of having a research vessel of the caliber of the Ocean Researcher V to the nation and said the ministry and related agencies would hold discussions about whether to repair it or build another vessel.
Chang said the loss of the ship would affect a total of 13 projects originally scheduled until August next year.
Additional reporting by Liu Yu-ching and Tsai Ying
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS