Lawmaker presses defence ministry over near-threefold cost jump for navy's next two rescue ships

An opposition lawmaker has demanded that Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense explain why two follow-on rescue and salvage ships planned for the navy are budgeted at almost three times the price of the first ship of the class, which entered service only recently.

Kuomintang legislator Ma Wen-chun said on Wednesday, 7 October, that the navy plans to set aside about NT$21.16 billion between 2027 and 2034 to build two follow-on ships to its new Dawu-class rescue ship. That works out at an average of about NT$10.58 billion per hull, against roughly NT$3.66 billion for the whole programme that produced the first ship, Dawu.

By her count, each new ship would cost about NT$6.9 billion more than the first, and the pair would together cost close to NT$14 billion more than two ships built at the original price. She asked the ministry to set out what the extra money would actually buy.

Clash on the floor of the legislature

Ma first raised the figures on Tuesday, 6 October, while questioning Premier Cho Jung-tai and Defence Minister Wellington Koo in the Legislative Yuan. She said the follow-on ships were costed at 2.89 times the first one and argued that a comparable US towing and salvage ship had been publicly priced at about NT$2 billion.

Koo replied that he did not have the underlying data with him and offered to brief her separately, adding that each ship programme goes through its own cost analysis. He objected that it was unfair to accuse the ministry of padding the budget with figures that could not be checked on the spot.

In the same session Ma also questioned a supplementary budget line of about NT$2.29 billion for 256 sets of mobile obstacle equipment, which she said worked out at several times the US price per set. Koo said the full amount was not as large as she described and promised to report back after checking.

In her statement the next day, Ma rejected the charge of unfairness, noting that the figures came from the ministry's own budget documents. Cho told her the defence minister would give a detailed explanation of the new ships' equipment and maintenance terms.

What the first ship already carries

Ma recalled that when the first ship was funded, lawmakers insisted the navy should not spend heavily on what amounted to a large tug and required genuine underwater rescue capability. Dawu was fitted with a diving bell rated to 100 metres and a remotely operated vehicle that can work at 500 metres.

Built by CSBC Corporation, Taiwan, and handed to the navy in October 2024, Dawu made its public debut at Zuoying naval base in January 2025. The navy said then that the 87-metre ship displaces 3,250 tonnes at full load, can exceed 18 knots and has a 100-tonne towing winch able to pull vessels of up to 100,000 tonnes.

Ma has asked the ministry to compare the two designs line by line, including any increase in hull size and towing power, the working depth of the diving bell and underwater vehicle, any new rescue equipment, and the cost of spares and maintenance. She also suggested that one reason for the higher estimates was a lack of bidders, and argued that the response should be to review specifications and tender terms rather than to keep adding money.

Part of a wider fleet support plan

The follow-on programme was approved on 22 July this year and appears in the 2027 defence budget sent to the legislature at the end of August. According to the budget documents, the first follow-on ship is due to reach its main construction and acquisition phase in 2032 and the second in 2033.

The navy says its three older rescue ships are each more than 80 years old, hard to maintain and not worth upgrading. Alongside the two follow-on ships, it plans a separate submarine rescue ship costing about NT$13.85 billion over the same period to support the domestically built submarine fleet, bringing the rescue ship plans to about NT$35 billion in total.