Taiwan International Ports Corporation’s Kaohsiung branch is seeking TW$304 million (around US$9.4 million) for clean-up costs and lost fishermen’s earnings following the sinking of the Palau-flagged boxship Angel on 21 July 2023.
The port authority has assessed that pressing the claims against the ship owner is impossible, and the matter will have to be settled with the vessel insurer, Norway-based Hydor.
As Angel went down, 776 boxes were submerged with the ship and 160 containers sank after floating. In all, 216 containers were promptly recovered and taken to various Taiwanese ports, while 87 boxes sank while being towed. Another 110 containers were beached near Kaohsiung. The clean-up costs are estimated at TW$266 million (US$8.2 million).
In addition, the shipwreck caused some waters in the anchorage area of Kaohsiung port to be unusable, and caused fishermen to suffer losses of TW$37.5 million (US$1.16 million).
The removal of the sunken hull is not expected to be completed until January 2025, which means that the related compensation costs and operating losses will continue to accumulate.
If efforts to settle with Hydor fail, TIPC’s Kaohsiung branch plans to file a request with the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Commission or consider litigation in Norway.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
