After the sinking of the Ocean Researcher 5 vessel in stormy waters this past October, Taiwan must brook no delay in restoring its ocean research momentum, Premier Mao Chi-kuo said at today's Cabinet meeting following a Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) briefing on rebuilding capabilities in the field.
"Ocean research helps us not only to control Taiwan's land environment and resources but to maintain national power and security," noted Mao.
He urged the MOST to act faster in decommissioning old research vessels and constructing or procuring new ones. Meanwhile, the ministry should move ahead with ocean exploration projects and continue building a national ocean resource databank.
In addition to planning a marine science research park that integrates government, academic and industrial resources, the MOST is also preparing to organize a national ocean research fleet to provide stable, long-term support for research activities. The premier instructed the MOST to coordinate and implement the efforts as soon as possible. He also requested the Ministry of Finance to offer assistance in acquiring land for the research park.
The loss of the Ocean Researcher 5 was a major setback for Taiwan's marine exploration efforts as the nation's three remaining vessels are unable to meet modern research needs. Hence, MOST will build a fleet of ships ranging from 500 tons to 3,000 tons for offshore and open seas marine studies.
The plans include replacing the three older ships with two 500-ton and one 1,000-ton vessels, to support short-duration offshore studies, cooperative education programs, and marine education internships.
Further, the Ocean Researcher 5 will be replaced by a 2,000-ton vessel and a 3,000-ton vessel, both of which will be used in the National Energy Program, continental shelf surveys, development of unmanned underwater vehicles, long-offset seismic surveys, and other special large expeditions of longer durations.
The marine science research park, serving as the operation base for the ocean research fleet, is slated to be constructed between 2014 and 2021. This facility will help integrate resources from the government, academia and industries, conduct surveys of territorial waters, support cutting-edge research, foster marine technology industries, and train industrial and research talent.