A freighter sank off the coast of Taichung on March 22 after suffering an engine malfunction. Eight crew members jumped into the sea and seven were rescued.
Coast Guard ships press ahead despite the inclement weather. The view from the cockpit showed that the weather conditions were poor. On March 22, a Mongolia-registered cargo ship developed engine problems and began listing. It then sank into the waters 48 nautical miles from the Port of Taichung. The eight crew members abandoned the ship, and seven, all Indonesian nationals, were rescued. The last one, a Taiwan national, remains missing and the Coast Guard has launched a search.
Huang Kuo-an, Chief, Central Sector Flotilla, CGA: “Coast Guard ships are continuing with the search and rescue operation. We have presently sent one large ship and three small vessels with 57 personnel for this operation.”
A National Airborne Service Corps helicopter plucked the seven Indonesian crew members from the water on March 22 and delivered them to a hospital. All are in stable condition. The NASC sent another helicopter on March 23 to help in the search for the last crew member but it had to turn back due to low visibility resulting from a thunderstorm.
Lin Kuo-chiang, Unit Chief, Third Branch, Second Brigade, NASC: “The weather was very poor. There was a thunderstorm in the central region, so they had to turn back before they reached the target area. The cloud cover was too low, so the visibility was very poor.”
The Maritime and Port Bureau's Central Maritime Affairs Center said it sent out a notice on March 22. It also said the freighter sank outside of Taiwan's territorial waters. The water there is sufficiently deep. It will assess whether the shipwreck will affect navigation or result in contamination and decide whether to ask the ship owner to salvage it.
海巡艦艇乘風破浪前進，從駕駛艙往外看能明顯感受到海象不佳，一艘蒙古籍貨輪22日下午因為主機故障，後續船身傾斜在台中港48海浬外海沉沒，船上8名船員跳海求生，7人獲救、另有1名台籍船員失聯，海巡持續搜救中。
海巡署中部機動海巡隊隊長黃國安說:「持續由海巡艦艇搜救中，截至目前本分署共計派遣一艦三艇，共57人執行本次搜救任務。」
空勤總隊直升機22日傍晚將7名印尼籍船員吊掛上機，晚間後送童綜合醫院、生命跡象穩定。23日上午空勤再派出一架次直升機持續搜救，但因外海有雷雨區、海空能見度差，於是緊急折返。
空勤總隊第二大隊第三隊隊長林國強表示:「天氣很糟，因為我們中部這邊有雷雨，所以他們出去，還沒到目標區又折返，因為雲幕太低了，能見度非常不好。」
交通部航港局中航中心表示，22日已發出礙行公告，推估貨輪沉沒地點已在我國領海之外，該處水深夠深，將再評估沉船是否阻礙航行、造成海洋汙染，以及是否要求船東打撈船隻。
