Taiwan charges master of vessel accused of cable cutting
Hongtai58 was escorted to Anping, Taiwan following the incident in late February
The news follows an announcement by Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau that vessels flagged with ‘blacklisted’ registries, which are owned or operated by companies based in China, Hong Kong or Macau, would be subject to enhanced checks before being allowed to dock in Taiwan
THE master of a vessel suspected of damaging undersea cables off Taiwan has been charged by local authorities.
The Taiwan Coast Guard Administration received a report from Chungwha Telecom on February 25 that the Taiwan-Penghu No 3 cable had been damaged.
CGA intercepted general cargoship Hongtai58 (IMO: 8357069) and escorted it to Anping.
Today, Taiwan’s state-owned news agency CNA reported the vessel’s master has been charged by the Southern District Prosecutors Office under the Telecommunications Management Act.
The news follows an announcement by Taiwan’s Maritime and Port Bureau that some China-owned vessels would be subject to greater checks before they can dock in Taiwan’s ports.
In a file sent to shipping agents seen by Lloyd’s List, vessels flagged by Mongolia, Cameroon, Tanzania, Togo and Sierra Leone (described as “black” flags by the bureau) and owned or operated by companies registered in China, Hong Kong or Macau will be subject to an “enhanced review” through the country’s MTNnet vessel registration system.
Ro-ro vessels, crude tankers, product tankers and LPG tankers that are owned/operated out of China, Hong Kong or Macau will also face an “enhanced review”.
Three of the flags identified, Tanzania, Cameroon and Togo, have all been used in one identity or another by vessels accused of cutting cables off the Taiwan coast in 2025.
One vessel, Xing Shun 39 (IMO: 8358427), was revealed by Lloyd’s List as possessing three possible identities when it damaged part of the Trans-Pacific Express system that connects Taiwan with the US west coast on January 3.
