A Taiwanese court has sentenced a Chinese master of a foreign-flagged vessel to three years in prison after finding he was responsible for damage to a vital subsea communications cable.
The vessel, operating under the names Hong Tai 168 and Hong Tai 58 and registered in Togo, was anchored in a prohibited area off the Taiwanese coast in February when the incident occurred.
Taiwan’s coast guard previously identified the ship as operating under a flag of convenience.
The master, identified only as Captain Wang, was convicted of “wilfully anchoring in a prohibited zone” after the court found that the ship’s anchoring damaged the Taiwan-Penghu No 3 undersea cable.
According to local media reports, this is the first time Taiwan has convicted a captain and ordered a prison sentence although authorities have recorded cases of cable damage in recent months.
Taiwan has been on high alert since early 2025, actively monitoring suspicious maritime activity.
In February, authorities detected the vessel anchored approximately five nautical miles offshore. The ship failed to respond to repeated attempts at communication from a shore station.
It began to depart the area at around 3am local time on 25 February, coinciding with an undersea cable outage reported by Chunghwa Telecom.
The captain claimed that the vessel had anchored due to “rough waters” that made “navigation tricky” but the coast guard noticed it had drifted erratically in a zig-zag pattern. He admitted to ordering crew to drop 160 metres of anchor chain but argued that the vessel “did not attach to the bottom”.
Taiwanese authorities intercepted the ship, which was carrying a crew of eight Chinese nationals. It was reportedly in poor condition and had “only one cargo record in the past year”, according to BBC sources.
Authorities said the master “refused to give them details on the ownership of the vessel” and had a “bad attitude” during questioning.
Investigations revealed the undersea cable was subjected to “external forces” and likely snagged. While the master denied any intent, he admitted the damage “could have happened”, calling it “simple negligence”.
Chunghwa Telecom reported that it incurred repair costs of US$578 572.
The court noted that it could have imposed a sentence of up to seven years and, while the master was jailed, “insufficient evidence” was found to charge the remaining crew who have been deported.
Chinese officials have denied any involvement, describing the incident as a “common maritime accident” and dismissing Taiwan’s reports as “exaggerated”.
