Mistakes Sunk Research Ship

Investigators say human error caused a Taiwanese research vessel to drift off course and sink last year, claiming the lives of two aboard.

kerry grens
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share

PIXABAY, UNSPLASHTaiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau has concluded that mistakes by crewmembers contributed to a research vessel veering off course and sinking in October 2014. Two researchers aboard died in the accident.

“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,” Chi Wen-jong, the director of the Maritime and Port Bureau, told the Taipei Times. “They also reached a consensus on the punishment to be handed down to the individuals responsible.”

A full report on the incident and the crewmembers’ punishment is yet to be released. According to the news report, those responsible could lose their seafaring licenses.

The Ocean Researcher V had turned toward shore a day into its expedition because of rough weather, but altered course, hitting a reef and sinking. Those aboard were rescued, except for Hsu Shuh-chieh, the chief scientist, and Lin I-chun.

“The ship ...

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Keywords

Meet the Author

  • kerry grens

    Kerry Grens

    Kerry served as The Scientist’s news director until 2021. Before joining The Scientist in 2013, she was a stringer for Reuters Health, the senior health and science reporter at WHYY in Philadelphia, and the health and science reporter at New Hampshire Public Radio. Kerry got her start in journalism as a AAAS Mass Media fellow at KUNC in Colorado. She has a master’s in biological sciences from Stanford University and a biology degree from Loyola University Chicago.

Share
3D illustration of a gold lipid nanoparticle with pink nucleic acid inside of it. Purple and teal spikes stick out from the lipid bilayer representing polyethylene glycol.
February 2025, Issue 1

A Nanoparticle Delivery System for Gene Therapy

A reimagined lipid vehicle for nucleic acids could overcome the limitations of current vectors.

View this Issue
Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

Enhancing Therapeutic Antibody Discovery with Cross-Platform Workflows

sartorius logo
Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Considerations for Cell-Based Assays in Immuno-Oncology Research

Lonza
An illustration of animal and tree silhouettes.

From Water Bears to Grizzly Bears: Unusual Animal Models

Taconic Biosciences
Sex Differences in Neurological Research

Sex Differences in Neurological Research

bit.bio logo

Products

Photo of a researcher overseeing large scale production processes in a laboratory.

Scaling Lentiviral Vector Manufacturing for Optimal Productivity

Thermo Fisher Logo
Collage-style urban graphic of wastewater surveillance and treatment

Putting Pathogens to the Test with Wastewater Surveillance

An illustration of an mRNA molecule in front of a multicolored background.

Generating High-Quality mRNA for In Vivo Delivery with lipid nanoparticles

Thermo Fisher Logo
Tecan Logo

Tecan introduces Veya: bringing digital, scalable automation to labs worldwide