TAIPEI: Environmentalists from Taiwan and the mainland met on the outlying island of Kinmen yesterday to discuss emergency preparedness for oil spills. Marine pollution is one of the issues that has surfaced since the launch of direct shipping links across the Taiwan Straits.

The environmental seminar, held at the National Kinmen Institute of Technology (NKIT), discussed response strategies for possible oil spill emergencies in the Taiwan Straits, which has become one of the world's busiest sea lanes.

Speaking at the opening session, Fu Kun-cheng, director of the NKIT's ocean affairs research center, said that ships plying the Taiwan Straits travel in a north-south direction and that the number of vessels on the route has been increasing steadily since the opening of direct cross-Straits shipping links.

"Against this backdrop, the probability of marine accidents has increased, and we are holding this seminar as the first step toward cross-Straits cooperation in the field of environmental protection," Fu said.

He expressed hope that the seminar will spur the establishment of a cross-Straits cooperative mechanism for oil spill prevention and emergency response.

The two-day seminar has brought together more than 120 marine pollution experts and scholars from Taiwan and the mainland to exchange views and experiences in addressing oil spill issues. The 40-member mainland delegation is headed by Li Yi, deputy chairman of the ship pollution commission under the Chinese Institute of Navigation.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 11/27/2009 page2)