00:00Something's fishy with this Tuvalu-flagged cargo ship, the Kaya.
00:05On Tuesday, Taiwan's Port Authority told Taiwan Plus it was inspecting the vessel after it docked at Taipei Port on
00:12March 10.
00:13They say they found it violated international conventions.
00:17And while it isn't classified as high-risk, the transportation minister warned vessel like it can pose security concerns.
00:40The Kaya is just one of several suspicious vessels raising red flags around Taiwan.
00:46Another, a Tanzania flagged vessel named Long An, was boarded and inspected on March 13th by Port authorities in southern
00:54Taiwan.
00:55They found it unfit to sail.
00:56We have to take advantage of the transportation system.
01:00And the航空, our海巡船, and the other agencies, must be able to strengthen the entire monitoring system and the monitoring system.
01:11But the vessel's seaworthiness isn't the only thing that's not above board.
01:15For example, Maritime Grey Zone Tracking Group Sea Lights identifies the vessel's current name as Long An.
01:22But records from the International Maritime Organization list the vessel as Sunshine Maru No. 81, likely its original name, but
01:31registered under a different flag, Curaçao.
01:34This suggests the vessel may be operating under a flag of convenience, registered in a country different from its owners
01:41to take advantage of looser regulations and lower costs.
01:54Taiwan has seen a growing number of flag of convenience vessels involved in suspicious activities, with some linked to China
02:02and incidents damaging Taiwan's undersea cables.
02:05It's the flags of convenience that are just overwhelming Taiwan's ability to respond and, again, slowly overwhelming the system so
02:15that the Taiwanese system isn't sure which of these threats is an actual threat.
02:19In Taiwan, handling these threats means tracking vessels, like the Long An, which have been blacklisted by the IMO and
02:26other organizations.
02:28Port authorities say vessels like these must be inspected at least once every two months before returning to sea, all
02:35to keep Taiwan's waters and infrastructure secure.
02:38Chris Ma and Ellen Liu for Taiwan Plus.
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