The captain and two other crew members of a Palau-flagged container ship that sunk off the coast of southern Taiwan last week have been barred from leaving the island. The travel ban was announced on Thursday in a Facebook post from the Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲).
The container ship, known as the Angel, sank while anchored near the port of Kaohsiung for unknown reasons on July 20, and all 19 crew members were able to abandon the ship. The Taiwan International Ports Corporation (TIPC) stated that oil-stop lines and oil-absorbing cotton ropes were deployed to contain and prevent oil pollution. As of Thursday, 233 of the Angel’s 1,349 empty containers have been hauled ashore, while 977 sank with the ship, according to TIPC.
Kuan says that in the event of a ship accident, Taiwanese law stipulates that shipowners must immediately take measures to prevent, eliminate, or reduce any marine pollution. She says the captain of the Angel did not take preventative actions, and that the burden of the cleanup was borne by the Taiwanese government. Kuan says that the costs of cleanup as well as losses to fishermen caused by the pollution are to be borne by the polluter. She adds that the shipowner should come forward and deal with the situation as soon as possible.