Taiwan Refloats Grounded Product Tanker from Kaohsiung Coast

A product tanker, 19Winner, which ran aground on the coast of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, over two weeks ago, was refloated on Monday.

Operated by Indonesia’s Azer Enterprises, the tanker was moved with high tide and tug assistance, and brought to anchor at Kaohsiung Anchorage.

During the rescue process, the hull structure remained intact and there were no oil spills reported in the area. The ship was refloated during the third attempt, after two previous refloating operations failed when the cables broke.

The vessel ran aground in a tropical low that had almost reached typhoon strength off Taiwan on June 14. Another tanker, the 5,357 dwt Shine Luck, also grounded at the time.

According to Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau (MOTC), the tankers were not loaded with cargo; however, they jointly had around 200 metric meters of oil on board.

The tanker Shine Luck was blown against concrete wave-breaks near the entrance of a fishing port. The authorities decided to extract the oil from the tanker in order to prevent a possible oil spill.

The oil removal operations were concluded on June 17 and the 1992-built tanker broke in two the next day.