Taiwan jails Chinese ship captain for damaging undersea cables

12/6/2025 17:46

A Taiwanese court sentenced the Chinese captain of a ship to three years in jail on Thursday after finding him guilty of intentionally damaging undersea cables off the island in February, in a case that alarmed Taiwan officials.



Prosecutors said the man was captain of the Chinese-crewed Hong Tai 58, registered in Togo, which Taiwanese authorities detained after suspecting the ship had dropped anchor near an undersea cable off southwestern Taiwan, damaging it.



The court in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan said the ship's Chinese captain, whom they identified only by his family name, Wang, was guilty of damaging the cables, though added he had denied the crime and that he can appeal.



Wang admitted that he told the crew to drop anchor, but denied that he was guilty of damaging the cables, and that he was merely negligent in his duties, the court said in a statement.



The court found that the captain had allowed the cargo ship to "wander", and that the cables broke due to the pulling of the anchor, it added.