In October 2014, after seemingly colliding with a reef in waters near Taiwan, a scientific research boat called Ocean Research V sunk. Of the 27 researchers on-board, two died. These were Hsu Shuh-chieh and Lin I-chun, who were based at the Academia Sinica Research Center for Environmental Changes in Taiwan. An inquiry into the incident has recently concluded and it has found that human error was to blame.
The vessel was expensive and loaded with scientific equipment. The $47 million vessel belonged to the Ministry of Science and Technology’s National Applied Research Laboratories in Taiwan. At the time, Nature News reported that the Ocean Research V included three labs, “sonar for seafloor mapping, multiple plankton samplers, and other devices for comprehensive ocean exploration.”
Now Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau has concluded that mistakes by crew members contributed to a research vessel veering off course and sinking. Here Chi Wen-jong, the director of the Maritime and Port Bureau, has told the Taipei Times: “The committee members had thorough discussions from both the technical and legal perspectives, and they reached the unanimous conclusion that the accident was caused by personnel errors. They also reached a consensus on the punishment to be handed down to the individuals responsible.”
Chi Wen-jong added: “The ship should be equipped with devices to let both the captain and chief officer know they have deviated from the route, which they should have the ability to adjust,” Chi said. “The fact of the matter is none of them did anything to address the problem.”
