Earlier this month the TS Taipei ran aground in bad weathers near New Taipei CIty.
All twenty one crew members on board were safely rescued, unfortunately one person was killed and two others injured when one of the search and rescue helicopters crashed into the sea whilst responding to the incident.
The shocking incident was caught on camera and can be seen below:
Since then the TS Taipei has been slowly breaking up – it’s cracked, fractured hull causing the worry that both ends of the vessel will capsize at any moment. With the vessel slowly disintegrating, Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) attention has turned to the 240 tonnes of fuel oil, 35 tonnes of lube oil, and 30 tonnes of waste and other contaminants that are on the vessel. The majority of the 617 of the shipping containers that are on board the TS Taipei have remained on deck, with some tumbling into the ocean and washing ashore.
Salvage has begun on the stricken vessel with the main focus on removing the fuel. The Taiwan Government has been criticized for it’s slow handling of this disaster however the EPA have blamed bad weather for hampering the salvage operation.
This video shows the extent of the disaster:
The world is watching this alarming incident closely. We will bring you more news on the TS Taipei when available.
TS Taipei
- Length: 168m
- Year Built: 2006
- Flag: Taiwan
Image credit: REUTERS/Tyrone Siu
Source credit: gcaptain.com
