A cleanup crew has yet to begin emptying oil from a Chinese freighter stranded off Taiwan's northeast coast since Typhoon Kong-rey hit the country two weeks ago. With more stormy weather forecast for the coming weekend, authorities hope to get the job done as soon as possible.
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00:00A race against the clock.
00:02After bad weather hampered earlier attempts, a cleanup crew from Taiwan's transportation
00:07ministry was today meant to finally begin emptying oil from the oil tank of a massive
00:12Chinese freighter, stranded off the northeastern coast in New Taipei.
00:17But work crews are absent from the scene of the stranded ship.
00:21Representatives from the Maritime Port Bureau declined to comment on any possible delays
00:25to the cleanup schedule.
00:28Crews say the process could take up to two weeks, with pumps working 24 hours a day to
00:33remove the approximately 290 tons of oil products on the Chinese ship.
00:38Operations, they say, will be closely monitored due to the risks of a potential oil leak.
00:44There are four harbors that we patrol every day, and we patrol the entire coastline.
00:48We put all the deterrents on site.
00:50If there is a situation where oil leaks out, we will be the first to guard against it.
00:54The partially submerged ship ran aground two weeks ago, when it sustained damage from strong
00:59waves and gale force winds due to Typhoon Kongrei.
01:03It left Taiwan's busy Jilong port on the 29th of October, transporting three gantry cranes
01:09to China.
01:11The Taiwanese Coast Guard rescued all 17 of the ship's crew members and brought them back
01:15to shore, a demonstration of friendship, one local official said, amid cross-strait tensions.
01:22The weather is calm now, and officials have said they are confident conditions are ideal
01:27for the start of the oil retrieval operations.
01:31But the next few days are crucial, as another typhoon is headed this way, and this could
01:35further complicate or even delay the cleanup process.
01:39The stranded ship is also located right next to a popular tourist attraction, the Yeliu
01:44Geopark, the natural scenic area known for its geological crown jewel, the natural formation
01:50dubbed the Queen's Head Rock.
01:52This geopark attracts thousands of domestic and international visitors every year, many
01:57still visiting, despite the stranded ship.
02:00Onlookers here have raised concerns over the severity of the situation.
02:03Yes, it could leak oil, or the ship is floating on the sea, so the environment on the seabed
02:12will be affected.
02:13I don't think we should rush to retrieve the ship.
02:15There should be relevant authorities, based on their expertise, to see how to retrieve
02:20the ship so that the oil doesn't leak out.
02:22It affects the environment here, and sometimes it can't be restored, or it takes decades
02:26to restore.
02:28Prepared to work around the clock, the government says it is determined to restore this unique
02:32coastline and keep it pristine and safe, but it seems clean-up crews have yet to be
02:37dispatched today, raising concerns of when they will start emptying the stranded vessel
02:42of all environmentally harmful products before it's lashed by the next approaching storm.
02:48Patrick Chen and Wesley Lewis for Taiwan Plus.