CGA puts oldest patrol boat out to pasture

2015-02-03

The oldest patrol boat in the Coast Guard Administration fleet was decommissioned Feb. 1 in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Port, ending a 37-year service life spent policing and protecting the territorial waters of Taiwan.

CG-109 Teh Hsing, a 500-ton former Ministry of Finance Customs Administration vessel, was built by Japan’s Usuki Shipyard Co. Ltd. and boasted a 40 mm cannon, a 12.7 mm gun and two 7.62 mm machine guns.

CGA Minister Wang Chung-yi said the launch ceremony for the Teh Hsing in 1977 was special as the national flag was flown and anthem played despite Japan breaking off relations with the ROC five years before. “This gesture showed due respect for the country and its sovereignty.”

According to the CGA, the Teh Hsing had an illustrious career, helping crack down on stowaways and smugglers. Notable successes include cooperating in 2006 with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration to intercept 240 kilograms of ketamine on a fishing boat in the Bashi Channel, and braving 2012’s Typhoon Tembin to intercept a 60-kilogram shipment of pure heroin from Cambodia with a street value of NT$2.4 billion (US$75.8 million).

The Teh Hsing is replaced by four 1,000-ton vessels. The Taoyuan and Miaoli were launched Jan. 28 and last November in Kaohsiung, respectively, with the Pingtung and Taitung scheduled for commissioning by June 2016.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=227047&CtNode=413)