A fleet of 155 private Taiwanese vessels has been assembled to join a mutual maritime assistance program led by the US Coast Guard, the Ocean Affairs Council said on Wednesday.
The US’ Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue program, implemented in 1958, coordinates emergency assistance to vessels on the high seas, with the cooperation and support of private shipping and fishing companies.
The new fleet of 155 boats, called the AMVER Taiwan Team, was inaugurated at a ceremony at Taipei 101, with Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), other government officials and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk attending.
Photo: Liao Chen-hui, Taipei Times
In Chen’s address, he thanked council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) for her efforts to recruit fishery associations and the operators of long-distance fishing vessels for the AMVER program in a bid to ensure the safety of domestic merchant ships and fishing boats.
The launch of the AMVER Taiwan Team would complement the nation’s “118 emergency hotline,” which has been managed by the Coast Guard Administration since 2001, Chen said, adding that the date of the fleet’s inauguration coincided with the number “118.”
Since 2001, calls on the hotline have resulted in the rescue of 4,593 vessels and 25,319 people, Chen said, adding that a message was being displayed on Taipei 101’s exterior in tribute to the nation’s coast guard.
Oudkirk said that the AMVER system could assist search-and-rescue units around the world identify the location of vessels in need of help.
Based on that information, rescue coordinators could dispatch ships to assist those in distress, she said.
Since AMVER was established in 1958 under the US Coast Guard, it has evolved into an effective tool to assist global search and rescue efforts, with more than 22,000 international vessels participating in the program, Oudkirk said.
About 36 private Taiwanese vessels were already participating in the AMVER program, Kuan said.
Kuan said that she first learned about the program in December last year, when she saw Oudkirk commending them in a Facebook video.
Kuan said that gave her the idea of formally recruiting more private Taiwanese boats for the program.
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