Taiwan to suspend multiple ferry services ahead of Typhoon Bavi

Taipei, July 7 (CNA) The Maritime and Port Bureau said it will suspend all ferry services on eastern routes from noon Wednesday through the end of Saturday because of potentially rough sea conditions brought by Typhoon Bavi.

The bureau said in a statement Tuesday that, in addition to the eastern routes, ferry services between Keelung and Matsu, and between Yanpu and Xiaoliuqiu, will also be suspended from Thursday through Saturday.

Ferry services between Donggang and Xiaoliuqiu will be partially suspended on Thursday and fully suspended on Friday and Saturday.

The service between Kaohsiung and Penghu that was scheduled on Friday morning will be brought forward to Thursday at 11 a.m., as the ship schedules on Friday are all suspended, and there is no scheduled vessel on Saturday.

Other ferry services will operate as usual.

The bureau urged passengers to return to Taiwan proper earlier than planned or postpone travel to offshore islands to avoid becoming stranded.

It also advised passengers to monitor the Maritime and Port Bureau's latest ferry service updates and announcements by ferry operators.

As of 2 p.m. Tuesday, the center of the typhoon was located about 1,930 kilometers east-southeast of Eluanbi, Taiwan's southernmost tip, and was moving west-northwest at 25 kph, according to the Central Weather Administration.