Chinese Captain Jailed for Cable Sabotage in Taiwan
Ship’s Captain from China Jailed for Three Years in Taiwan Over Subsea Cable Sabotage
By Matthew Gooding, Data Center Dynamics
June 13, 2025
A ship’s captain from China has been sentenced to three years in prison in Taiwan after his vessel damaged an undersea cable.
The case is thought to be the first prosecution relating to the severing of cables in the seas around Taiwan.
According to a BBC report, the man, identified only by his surname Wang, was captain of the Hong Tai 58, a ship registered in Togo.
He was arrested in February and accused of damaging a cable connecting Taiwan to the Penghu Islands, off the coast of China on the other side of the Taiwan Strait.
According to Submarine Cable Map, two cables, TPKM2 and TPKM3, run across the strait in the area, though the name of the damaged cable has not been reported.
Anchor dragged across the cable
The court heard that the Hong Tai 58 was anchored off Taiwan’s southern coast for several days and was asked to leave the area by the coastguard.
It departed on February 25, and within minutes, the coastguard learned that the cable had been severed. The Hong Tai was escorted back to Taiwan, and its eight-person Chinese crew was detained.
Wang was the only crew member to face charges, with the rest sent back to China
During his trial, Wang said he “might have broken the cable,” the BBC reports. He initially denied causing any damage, but then said the sea conditions made it difficult to navigate, and that his ship dropped anchor without knowing there was a cable in the area.
Prosecutors argued he acted intentionally. Speaking to the BBC earlier this year, Hsu Shu Han, one of the prosecutors on the case, said the ship only had one cargo record for the year and was in poor condition. It has also gone under several different names, meaning the owner has yet to be identified.
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