Twelve Indonesian crew members of the grounded cargo ship Jin Hua have been evacuated from the stricken vessel, Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau informed today.
The ship ran aground on August 23 due to stormy weather and has been stuck outside the Kaohsiung Port in Taiwan ever since. Jin Hua suffered a hull breach, and its engine room and some of its cabins are reported to be flooded.
Based on the latest update from the bureau, the condition of the vessel has deteriorated and the crew had to be hoisted from the ship. The imagery from the site shows that the ship’s stern is partially submerged.
The Kaohsiung authorities expressed concern that the grounded cargo ship may leak oil and pollute the ocean, as it is carrying around 90 tons of heavy fuel oil and 35 tons of diesel. As such, the authorities have urged the relevant parties to start removing the oil as soon as possible to avoid an oil spill.
The bureau added that the plan is to salvage the vessel once the weather conditions allow it.
Jin Hua is one of the seven ships that ran aground last week due to inclement weather that battered Taiwan. Cargo ship Unlimited 2, also got grounded in the area. The bureau said on Monday that the residual oil has been removed from the stricken ship and the shipowner has been instructed to submit a salvage plan to the authorities in order to remove the ship from the grounding site as soon as possible to reduce impact on the marine environment.
World Maritime News Staff