Coast Guard Administration personnel rescued all 17 crew members of the Yu Zhou Qi Hang (鈺洲啟航), a China-registered cargo ship, after the captain announced that the vessel was being abandoned, having lost the ability to navigate due to severe weather and heavy loading.
The ship, which departed from Keelung at 7:57am on Tuesday for Zhangzhou in China’s Fujian Province, stalled in rough conditions 2.4 nautical miles (4.4km) north-northwest of Cape Yehliu (野柳岬) in New Taipei City three hours later.
The ship, which was carrying three gantry cranes and was affected by strong winds as Typhoon Kong-rey approached, was unable to depart the area and drifted closer to the shore near Yehliu, the coast guard said.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
Rescue units dispatched tugboats to the scene, but they had to turn back due to rough conditions, it said.
The captain of the Yu Zhou Qi Hang announced that the ship would be abandoned that evening as the wind and rain intensified, the coast guard said.
The coast guard dispatched a 100-tonne patrol boat to rescue the ship’s crew, returning them safely to Keelung by 10:05pm, it said.
Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) yesterday wrote on Facebook that the coast guard had clearly demonstrated its humanitarian ideals by treating Chinese with kindness and completing the rescue mission amid harsh sea conditions.
“It again proves what I have said: The coast guard protects the well-being of people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait,” Kuan said.
The coast guard said in a statement that crew members of fishing and cargo vessels should pay attention to weather forecasts before heading out to sea, and to call the toll-free 118 coast guard hotline if they encounter an emergency situation.
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