Boxship hits pier at Port of Kaohsiung

A container ship carrying 6,763 TEU has damaged the quayside of the Port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan while travelling at an excessive speed.

Media sources reported that vessel HYUNDAI TOKYO’s appointed pilot was legally drunk at the time of the accident.

By 9.00 a.m. on 20 March, the 997-foot-long vessel passed the breakwater.

The HYUNDAI TOKYO was on its way to the Port of Kaohsiung after leaving Ningbo in China, when the ship’s excessive speed alerted the harbour master’s office.

The ship was travelling at more than six knots, according to local reports.

The pilot was contacted four times within a minute to be warned of the speed, but communications were left unanswered and the ship struck pier 77 at the port.

The vessel sustained only minor damage, local news reported, and it was held by the Maritime and Port Bureau while inspections were being conducted.

The vessel was eventually permitted to continue its voyage to Shekou, China on 21 March, only after the posting of a bond for any damage to the port’s infrastructure and the signing of a declaration of responsibility.