Taiwan has had its share of maritime “incidents” in the news lately. By now, you’ve probably heard of the giant container ship that accidentally blocked the Suez Canal. Now, there’s been another nautical accident, this time in the southern port city of Kaohsiung.
The launch of a vessel fresh out of the shipyard is usually a triumphant moment for a shipbuilder—long weeks of assembly and welding finally brought to completion. But the recent launch of a 700-ton fishing vessel in Kaohsiung was anything but triumphant.
To the horror of onlookers, the vessel began listing to one side within seconds of its launch on Saturday. Moments later, it sank.
Fortunately, no one was injured when the boat capsized. A harbor police patrol just happened to be passing by when the boat tipped on its side. They issued an alert and tug boats came to tow the capsized ship back to the wharf without disrupting the harbor’s operations.
The shipbuilder has not spoken to reporters, but it’s thought that the ballast used to keep the ship stable may not have been properly balanced.