Heavy Lift Vessel Driven Ashore on Taiwan During Typhoon

The Chinese heavy lift vessel Yu Zhou Qi Hang (12,135 dwt) was driven ashore early on Thursday, October 31, during Typhoon Kong-rey which was reported to be the largest storm to hit the island in nearly 30 years. The vessel had dropped its anchors after losing power and was evacuated by the Taiwan Coast Guard as the storm approached.

Officials from the New Taipei City government held a briefing on Thursday, October 31, reporting the vessel had been driven aground by the wind and waves of the storm. One of the three cargo cranes loaded on the vessel also toppled over in the winds. 

A possible plan to tow the vessel off the shore was abandoned, and the officials are now saying they will attempt to pump the fuel oils from the vessel when the weather improves. The Environmental Agency reports oil arresting ropes were strung as a precaution at the entrance to three local fishing ports and the water inlet to a nuclear plant although so far, no oil has been spotted leaking from the ship. It has also staged other equipment for a possible response.

At its peak, the typhoon had wind gusts of between 155 and 160 mph with reports that some of the wind barometers had gone offline due to the strength of the storm. Kong-rey had weakened from the status of a Super Typhoon overnight before hitting the eastern shore on Thursday and is now expected to move across the Taiwan Strait and brush the coast of China. Parts of Taiwan are reporting over three feet of rainfall. One person is known to have died and there are widespread reports of damage and power outages. Over 300 international flights were canceled but so far, the heavy lift vessel is the only one known to have been caught in the storm. Two typhoons earlier this year grounded several ships.

Officials reported the heavy lift vessel has 247 tons of heavy oil and 37 tons of light oil aboard as well as 6,280 liters of lubricating oil. The goal is to start siphoning the oil from the tanks as early as Friday or Saturday.

The Yu Zhou Qi Hang departed Keelung port at approximately 0800 Tuesday morning October 29 bound for China with three large container cranes aboard. The storm at the time was east of Taiwan, but the vessel only made it about 2.4 nautical miles offshore before reporting problems attributed to the wind and waves. Media reports suggest the vessel lost power and a salvage tug had been sent but it was not due to reach the ship till Wednesday.

The captain dropped two anchors to slow the vessel’s movement. By Tuesday night, the captain was preparing to evacuate the ship, and the Taiwan Coast Guard despite the worsening weather was able to rescue the 17 crewmembers.

The New Taipei City Government Environmental Protection Bureau said the ship’s owners would be required to take the necessary contingency measures to prevent pollution. Failure to comply they said could result in a fine of $940,000. City officials said the shipowner will be held accountable for the environmental cleanup and legal responsibilities.