On 10 March 2016, the Taiwan-registered container ship, the TS Taipei ran aground just 0.3 nautical miles from the coast of Shimen, New Taipei City after its engines lost power. The ship was carrying 407 tonnes of fuel and 40 tonnes of diesel. The EPA set in motion its response mechanism with three major goals: personnel safety first; making every effort to remove the oil; and preventing secondary pollution from occurring. The EPA also requested the ship owner to remove all the oily wastes collected each day and have them transported by licensed waste clearance organizations. As of 7 April, a total of 1,950 kg of waste, 2,380 liters of oily water and 38 containers had been removed. The three containers left will be lifted off when the tide is low. The remaining oil is being removed by the ship owner under the supervision of the emergency response center. The emergency response center will continue with dispatching fishing boats to carry out oil removal in the open sea and with supervising the ship owner to deploy oil booms and oil absorbent booms. Premier Chang San-Cheng also asked the Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture to urge the ship owner to clarify how damages will be determined with its insurance company as soon as possible to ensure that the losses of fishermen will be properly compensated. The Taiwan registered container ship TS Taipei ran aground just 0.3 nautical miles from the coast of Shimen, New Taipei City at 9:30 am on 10 March 2016 after its engines lost power. The ship’s crew reported that they had laid anchor as the hull was punctured and the engine room was taking in water. The ship weighed 15,487 tonnes and was carrying 407 tonnes of fuel and 40 tonnes of diesel. Since the fuel and goods on the ship posed an immediate pollution threat to the local marine environment, the EPA set in motion its response mechanism in accordance with the Major Marine Oil Spill Emergency Response Plan and asked the New Taipei City Environmental Protection Bureau to immediately deploy emergency response resources to the affected area. The EPA inputted data on weather and sea conditions into its oil dispersal simulation modeling system to predict the impact of the oil slick on the surrounding area for the following 24 hours. The EPA also requested that one of Taiwan’s satellites, FORMOSAT-2, begin monitoring the seas to provide the response teams with real-time data on changes in sea conditions in the vicinity of the incident. On 10 March, the EPA convened an emergency response meeting at the Shimen District Office, New Taipei City, attended by representatives from the Maritime and Port Bureau of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Maritime and Port Bureau’s North Maritime Affairs Center, the Coast Guard Administration, the Maritime Patrol Directorate General, the Council of Agriculture, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant, the Ministry of Defense, the New Taipei City Bureau of Environmental Protection, Taiwan International Ports Corp. (Port of Keelung), and T.S. Lines Co. During the meeting the EPA asked each organization present to fulfill their tasks as laid out in the Major Marine Oil Spill Emergency Response Plan and endeavor to preserve all relevant evidence. The EPA further asked the Maritime and Port Bureau to take charge of removing remaining oil and oil products from the ship as authorized by Article 53 of the Commercial Port Law. On 7 April the central emergency response center convened another oil pollution response meeting that was chaired by EPA Deputy Minister Fu Shu-Chiang at the Shimen District Office. The EPA is continuing to monitor the marine pollution using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and land-based radar vehicles. The collected data showed that there was no oil spill on the sea surface of the rear starboard side of the ship, around a nearby fishing harbor and the water inlet for Jinshan Nuclear Power Plant, confirming that the booms initially deployed seemed to be doing their job. As for the remaining oil in No. 3 cargo hold on the TS Taipei, the emergency response center will continue to supervise the ship owners to remove the oil as quickly as possible, and will also supervise the addition of more oil booms and oil absorbent booms at the side of the ship. Fishing boats have also been dispatched to cleaning up the oil spilled into the sea to prevent it from spreading out. By 7 April, 258 person-days had been spent on cleaning up the shore, with 1,950 kg of wastes and 2,380 kg of oily water removed. The EPA requested the ship owner to employ a licensed waste clearance organization to remove all of the wastes and oily water collected each day. According to the Maritime and Port Bureau, as of 7 April, 38 containers have been lifted off the rear deck of the TS Taipei with three remaining containers to be removed at low tide. Premier Chang San-Cheng has been very concerned about the progress being made in removing the remaining oil and containers from the wreck of the TS Taipei. On 6 April 2016, he made his fourth inspection visit to the emergency response center at the scene and listened to reports from the ministries involved. Officials from the Maritime and Port Bureau said that they would continue to push the ship company to submit full-fledged plans detailing how they plan to remove the remaining oil and haul the hull to a suitable location afterwards, knowing that these tasks must be completed before the typhoon season begins. Premier Chang also asked the Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture to urge the ship owner to work with its insurance company as soon as possible to clarify how damages will be determined and ensure that losses of fishermen loss will be properly compensated. The EPA made it clear that although the personnel involved in the clean-up are making every effort to remove the oil and prevent secondary pollution from occurring, they still have to put safety first. All government agencies involved will continue to work hard on their respective emergency response tasks and ensure that Taiwan’s marine environment is protected as well as possible.