HONGTAI58

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Captain sentenced to three years in prison for severing submarine cable

The captain the 'Hong Tai 58' has been sentenced to three years in prison for severing the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable linking Taiwan and Penghu. On June 12, Tainan District Court found the Chinese captain, surnamed Wang (王), guilty of breaching Article 72 of the Telecommunications Management Act and sentenced him to a fixed term of three years, per CNA. The Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable, maintained by Chunghwa Telecom, lies 5 nautical miles (9.26 km) off the coast of Tainan's Beimen District. The 'Hong Tai 58’s electronic nautical charts marked the cable's location, while the area was publicly designated as a no-anchoring zone due to the presence of critical infrastructure. After entering the restricted zone on Feb 22 between 9:30 p.m. and Feb 25 at 3 a.m., Wang instructed two crew members, surnamed Chin (秦) and Chang (張), to release six shackles of anchor chain (approximately 160 meters) and the anchor into the sea. However, the anchor did not settle properly on the seabed. The vessel subsequently drifted in a zigzag pattern on the surface, causing the cable to snap completely, disrupting telecommunications services. Wang admitted to ordering the crew to drop anchor but denied intentionally damaging the cable, claiming it was negligence. The court, however, concluded that Wang had willfully anchored in a prohibited zone and allowed the vessel to drift, leading to the cable being dragged and severed. Chunghwa Telecom incurred more than NT$17 million (US$5.78 million) in repair costs and over NT$1.8 million in shipping agency service fees. Following the incident, Wang was detained incommunicado. The Tainan District Prosecutors Office concluded its investigation and indicted him on April 11. The case was then transferred to Tainan District Court, which upheld his detention. Seven other crew members were not indicted due to insufficient evidence and were deported.

Captain charged for severing undersea cable

The captain of the 'Hong Tai 58' has been charged with severing an undersea telecommunications cable off the coast of Taiwan, near the Taiwanese archipelago of Penghu, last February, by the Taiwanese prosecutors. Captain Wang, has been detained in Taiwan since the incident, which occurred in the strategic and sensitive waters between Taiwan and China. The ship had eight Chinese nationals on board and was financed by China, the Coast Guard said. The vessel, which was spotted about 11 kilometres northwest of the Jiangjun fishing port, was intercepted by the Coast Guard after the cable linking Penghu to Taiwan was severed. Mr. Wang was accused of "destroying submarine cable-related facilities. The captain instructed the crew to drop anchor (...) with the intention of destroying the submarine cable. He also steered the vessel in a zigzag pattern over the cable by using the cargo ship's anchor to cut the cable, which damaged the submarine cable and affected communications between Taiwan and Penghu, according to the prosecutors. Mr. Wang faces a maximum prison sentence of seven years. Taiwan is connected by 14 international submarine cables and 10 domestic cables, which are of great strategic importance for ensuring telecommunications.

Crew replaced steel plates for name change

The latest ship accused of damaging cables off Taiwan had a simple way of changing identity. It was able to change its name many times as the crews simply replaced three steel plates, so it has also recently traded as the 'Hongtai 68' and 'Shanmei 7'. The captain of the vessel – dubbed in local media as the ‘thousand faces ship’ – had on an earlier occasion been caught entering Taiwan with false documents.