Taiwan's first indigenous submarine prototype has began its sixth sea
acceptance test.

The Narwhal drew large crowds when it left C-S-B-C's Kaohsiung Harbor ship
yard for open seas.

The sea acceptance test is a formal series of trials conducted at sea to
evaluate whether a newly built or significantly upgraded ship meets its
contractual performance specifications before it is delivered to the
customer.

C-S-B-C completed the fifth test for the submarine on November 28 of last
year.

Reports have said the Narwhal is still being prepared to carry out diving
tests after moving into open seas... C-S-B-C is refusing say when the tests
will actually begin.

C-S-B-C has been accruing fines of 190,000 N-T per day for breach of
contract since November of last year for missing its delivery deadline.

However, the accumulated amount will be capped at about 4-billion N-T - a
figure that represents some 20-per cent of the total cost of building the
submarine.