TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Coast Guard Administration on Tuesday said that the crew of a freighter suspected of cutting a subsea cable was Chinese and the vessel was registered with two names in two countries. 

The CGA's Ocean Affairs Council said it convened an inter-agency coordination meeting to strengthen monitoring and enforcement mechanisms for undersea cables. The CGA said that at 12:40 p.m. on Jan. 3, it received a report from Chunghwa Telecom that damage had occurred to an undersea international cable northeast of Yehliu. 

The Coast Guard dispatched the patrol boat PP-10069 and intercepted the Cameroonian-flagged freighter, “Shun Xing 39,” which had passed through the affected area 12.96 km (7 nm) north of Yehliu. The ship was instructed to return to waters off the Port of Keelung for investigation.

After the Coast Guard vessel completed broadcasting, photographing, and video-recording procedures on the ship off the coast of Keelung, officers could not board due to rough seas. Considering the ship had been away for nine hours, the CGA did not deem the incident a flagrant violation, and the ship was not detained.

Subsequently, Taiwan sought assistance from the ship’s destination port in South Korea (Busan) for evidence collection. The case has been forwarded to the District Prosecutors Office, along with radar and navigational evidence, for further investigation and to pursue the criminal and civil liability of the ship.

The CGA found that the ship is registered as both the Shun Xing 39 under the Cameroon flag and the “Xing Shun 39” under the Tanzania flag and uses two different AIS systems for vessel tracking. It said all seven crew members are Chinese nationals and the shipowner is based in Hong Kong.

Referring to last year’s incidents of damage to undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, the CGA said, "It is still impossible to confirm the ship's true intentions based on its historical track." However, the Coast Guard said it cannot rule out the possibility that it is a Chinese-operated proxy ship potentially involved in gray zone activities.

Given the importance of undersea cables to Taiwan’s security and global communication, the Ocean Affairs Council invited government agencies to convene a meeting. The meeting will comprehensively review and refine procedures for handling such cases involving vessels to protect undersea cables.