At 2125 hours on October 29, 2024, a Chinese-flag cargo vessel, “YU ZHOU QI HANG” (IMO 9643776), encountered severe weather while navigating 2.4 nautical miles north-northwest of Yehliu Geopark near Keelung. Due to the severe weather, the vessel was unable to continue safe navigation, and the captain ordered the crew to abandon the ship. At 2145 hours, the Coast Guard successfully evacuated the captain and 16 crew members to shore. On October 31, at 0745 hours, the vessel grounded near the Yehliu coastline. This occurrence led to the vessel striking rocks, resulting in a list and water ingress, causing extensive damage to the hull. No oil pollution has been reported.

The Taiwan Transportation Safety Board (TTSB) classified the event as a major marine occurrence per the Transportation Occurrence Investigation Act and referenced the Casualty Investigation Code of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The Investigator-In-Charge was assigned, and an investigation team was launched to conduct the investigation.

Further information on the progress of the occurrence investigation will be published on the TTSB website.

Ya-Ting Chang, Secretariat Office

Tel: +886-2-7727-6210

E-mail: yating@ttsb.gov.tw

Michael Guan, Marine Occurrence Investigation Division

Tel: +886-2-7727-6202

E-mail: michael @ttsb.gov.tw