Ministry Of Transportation And Communications News

Finnish-Swedish passenger ferry operator Kvarken Link has signed a construction agreement with Finnish shipbuilding company Rauma Marine Constructions for a car and passenger ferry, set to operate between the Finnish city of Vaasa and the Swedish city of Umeå.Following the agreement, the planning of the vessel can begin with immediate effect. The Ministry of Transportation and Communications of Finland, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment, and the Ministry of Finance have jointly enabled the quick execution of the agreement.“We reached an agreement in a little over a week after signing the letter of intent. Now begins the real work.

A German-flagged container ship Hansa Meersburg ran into a crane while berthing at Keelung Port, Taiwan resulting in the damage of containers and port infrastructure, CNA reported. The 2007-built freighter, operated by German-based Leonhardt and Blumberg hit and damaged a berth crane valued at NT$200 million (US$6.78 million) as it was sailing into the harbor. In addition to the damage sustained by the crane, a pier was also damaged, suffering a hole three meters wide and two meters deep. The Focus Taiwan news channel reported that a 62-year-old worker, Chen Lin-tsang, who was handling cargo, suffered minor injury when the ship hit the crane. The incident is being investigated by the Marine Port Bureau (MPB) under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, Taiwan.

Taiwanese container carrier Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp should merge with state-owned port company Taiwan International Port Corp. (TIPC), report local media quoting a member of Taiwan's parliament. Legislator Chen Ou-po of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposed that Yang Ming, which is 33% government-owned, can merge with state-owned TIPC, Taipei Times reported. Taiwan’s ministry of transportation and communications is working on the possibility of merging container carrier Yang Ming, island’s second largest containerline, and TIPC. The merger is mooted as part of reform measures aimed at helping the weak maritime sector.

Taiwanese government said it will provide 60 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.9 billion) to support the country’s shipping industry, according to Reuters. The package, announced late Tuesday, involves a credit line with preferential interest rates aimed mainly to help Evergreen Marine Corp. and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp., two of the world’s biggest container operators, says WSJ. The government wants to to prevent a collapse similar to Korea’s Hanjin Shipping Co. The Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai explicitly cited the failure of Hanjin Shipping and its knock-on effects for South Korean industry and citizens, according to the Taipei Times.

Taiwan's government said on Wednesday it will offer to lend struggling local shippers NT$60 billion ($1.9 billion) at below-market interest rates, to help them cope with the industry's worst downturn. "The global shipping industry is going through a tough time. These loans are part of the government's efforts to help local shippers," said Yeh Hsieh-lung, a deputy director general of Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC). Shippers with accumulated losses in the past four quarters will be qualified to apply for the loans, Yeh said. South Korea's Hanjin Shipping Co Ltd filed for court receivership in August after losing the support of its banks, setting the stage for its assets to be frozen as ports from China to Spain denied access to its vessels.

Debunkering efforts continue for the TS Taipei, which grounded off Shimen, Taiwan last month, causing a large bunker spill after the vessel fractured in the middle. Minister of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications (MOTC) Chen Jian-yu said he hopes to see the removal of all remaining containers on the deck of the T.S. Taipei ship this week itself. The cargo ship was carrying 20 tonnes of potassium perchlorate, 19.5 tonnes of fats, 18.2 tonnes of toluene, 11 tonnes of paint, 8.5 tonnes of corrosive liquids, and 6 tonnes of flammable lubricants, and several empty containers from among the total of 617 boxes on board the ship fell into the sea. The oil spill cleanup work is likely to take another month to complete. The oil spill has polluted 20.3 kilometers of shoreline.

The government of Taiwan is planning to open another two lighthouses to the public since such structures have become major tourism attractions in the country, the Maritime and Port Bureau informed. By 2015-end Chimei Yu Lighthouse on Penghu and Fukwei Chiao Lighthouse in New Taipei City will be added to the country's list of lighthouse tourist attractions. Taiwan has 35 lighthouses, 10 of which are currently open to visitors. The most recent additions to the list of lighthouse tourist sites were Paisha Chia, Lu Tao, Fong Yuan, and Kaomei lighthouses, which were opened to the public over the past two years. Prior to 2013, visitors were allowed into only six of the country's lighthouses -- Eluan Pi, Santiao Chiao, Kaohsiung, Yuweng Tao, Tungchu Tao and Tungyin Tao.

Transas Ukraine has modernised an existing Vessel Traffic Management System (VTMS) in the Ukrainian port of Ilyichevsk. The contract was honoured by "Delta-Pilot" – a government establishment responsible for security of shipping in North-West area of the Black Sea. Compliance of the system with the international and Ukrainian requirements has been acknowledged by the Ukrainian Ministry of Transportation and Communications. The Port of Ilyichevsk VTMS was upgraded to the latest version of the Transas VTS software Navi-Harbour 4.3.

Taiwan on Tuesday searched on for 10 Chinese crew members of a Belize-registered vessel that went missing off the island's southern coast during a killer typhoon, though hopes of finding survivors were fading, officials said. "After 72 hours, chances of finding any survivors are low," said Younger Wu of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications. "The emergency task force had been called off, but we will continue the search until all bodies are accounted for," Wu, who heads the ministry's Navigation & Aviation Department, told a news conference. Typhoon Chebi lashed Taiwan and China over the weekend, killing at least 87 people and injuring 116.