Ferry services suspended due to Tropical Storm Wipha

Taipei, July 18 (CNA) Several ferry operators will suspend operations Saturday and Sunday due to Tropical Storm Wipha, the Maritime Port Bureau (MPB) said Friday.

On Saturday, all ferry services will be suspended on the Keelung-Matsu Islands, Nangan-Dongyin, Eastern Taiwan and Kinmen-Xiamen-Quanzhou routes.

Twenty-seven ferries between Donggang-Xiaoliuqiu and three ferries between Yanpu-Xiaoliuqiu will also be cancelled Saturday.

On Sunday, services between Taipei-Matsu Islands, Nangan-Dongyin, Houbihu-Orchid Island and all services to and from Xiaoliuqiu will be suspended, as will ferries from the Matsu Islands to Keelung.

The MPB urged passengers who need to return to Taiwan to take one of the remaining ferries on Friday or Saturday.

At 11:30 a.m. Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued a sea warning for Tropical Storm Wipha.

As of 2 p.m., the eye of the storm was located 500 kilometers south-southeast of Cape Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 23 kilometers per hour, according to CWA data.

Kenting National Park Headquarters has closed all the beaches in Kenting as the CWA expects waves at South Bay Beach to reach as high as 2.7 meters around 12 p.m. Saturday.

In addition, Shei-Pa National Park Headquarters has announced the park will be closed from Friday as a precaution, and warned the public to stay clear of mountainous areas.