HONGTAI58

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Ship sailed under various numbers and turned off AIS

The 'Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) ', which allegedly severed the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable. is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On the night of Feb 26, the ship along with its Chinese crew was detained. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was 'Hong Tai 168', although the AIS) displayed it as 'Hong Tai 58'. The Coast Guard personnel inspected the ship at Anping Harbor in Tainan. A review of AIS records showed that the freighter in Sep 2024 had called at the ports of Kaohsiung, Anping, Keelung and Busan.The freighter apparently turned off its AIS some time after that until Jan 2025, when it appeared in waters near the port of Kaohsiung. The device stayed on until Feb 27 at 11 a.m. The records showed that the vessel had two IMO numbers, which breached the agency’s rules. Also, the MMSI had been used by the Tanzania-flagged 'Hong Da 8 (宏大8號)' and the China-flagged 'Jin Long 389 (金龍389號)', the transponder of which had remained silent for years. The 'Hong Da 8', which is active, has operated with three MMSI numbers. The records suggested that the 'Hong Tai 58', 'Hong Da 8' and Jin Long 389' were the same freighter. The Chinese state-run China COSCO Shipping Corporation and the Guangdong-based Jin Long Maritime Transport owned and operated the 'Jin Long 389'. The 'Hong Tai 58' was linked through its MMSI numbers to six vessels. Five of the ships sailed between Taiwan, China and South Korea in the past three months, each using their AIS, but intermittently.The 'Hong Da 8' had entered the Port of Anping as recently as Feb 2.

Captain denied accusation

The captain of the 'Hongtai 58' denied on Feb 27 that his vessel had damaged the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable between Taiwan proper and Penghu. The Tainan District Prosecutors Office has requested the detention of the the man, surnamed Wang (王). The Tainan District Court said on Feb 27 that following confessions, witness testimonies, and supporting evidence, Wang was suspected of breaching the Telecommunications Management Act. The court suspected his involvement in the crime was significant.Wang is a Chinese national with no fixed residence in Taiwan, and if released on bail, there was a risk of him fleeing. The investigation has yet to clarify Wang’s role and the extent of his involvement alongside other accomplices. If released on bail, the court said Wang might contact his accomplices, posing a risk of collusion with co-conspirators and witnesses. The court determined that Wang’s actions led to the disruption of inter-island communications. Given the severity of the crime, the court ruled to remand him in custody and hold him incommunicado. The 'Hong Tai 58' was anchored six nautical miles northwest of Tainan's Jiangjun Fishing Harbor, about half a mile north of the Taiwan-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable. On Feb 25 at around 3 a.m., the Chunghwa Telecom reported the cable had broken 11 kilometres northwest of Jiangjun Fishing Harbor. After receiving the report of the cable break, a Coast Guard vessel intercepted the 'Hong Tai 58' and escorted it to Anping Port. The Coast Guard then handed over the eight Chinese crew members to Tainan prosecutors for investigations.Following questioning on Feb 26, the Tainan District Prosecutors Office requested the detention of Wang. The other seven crew members were placed under residential restrictions, barred from leaving the country, and subjected to electronic monitoring. Report with photo: https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/news/6047423

Freighter with chinese crew detained for suspected sabotage

On Feb 25, 2025, the Taiwan Coastguard has detained the 'Hongtai 58' with eight Chinese crew members on board, for suspected sabotage. The National Communications and Cyber Security Center received a report at 3:03 a.m. from the Chunghwa Telecom that the No. 3 cable from Taiwan to Penghu was severed 14.7 kilometres off the coast of Tainan. The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) upon receiving the report from Chunghwa Telecom began to monitor the 'Hong Tai (宏泰)', which was anchored near the cable, The ship was in the area from Feb 22 at about 7:10 p.m. until around the time when Chunghwa Telecom reported that the cable had been severed, When the CGA received another report at 3 a.m. that the cable had been severed and that external force could have been responsible, it stopped the vessel and called for reinforcements. Although the Coastguard personnel could not board and inspect the ship due to a difference in height, it was escorted back to port in Tainan, where prosecutors have started their investigation after detaining the crew. Furthermore, the AIS not match what it identified itself as over the radio or what is written on the hull. The case was being “handled in accordance with national security-level principles. Whether the cause of the undersea cable breakage was intentional sabotage or a simple accident remains to be clarified by further investigation.” After the cable was severed, the digital ministry ordered the company to redirect traffic to other cables connecting Taiwan’s main island to its offshore islands. The company was also instructed to add the cable to its repair schedule, coordinating with a repair vessel currently in Kaohsiung working to fix the previously damaged Taiwan-Matsu No. 2 and No. 3 cables. Those two cables are expected to be fully completed by the end of this month and next month, respectively, with the cable connecting Penghu to be fixed afterward. The ministry has submitted a report to the Executive Yuan labeling Taiwan’s undersea cables as critical infrastructure Reports with photo and video: https://hongkongfp.com/2025/02/25/taiwans-coast-guard-detains-chinese-crewed-ship-after-subsea-cable-cut/ https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/25/world/video/taiwan-detain-chinese-crewed-ship-undersea-cable-digvid https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-25/taiwan-detains-china-linked-ship-after-undersea-cable-incident/104981932 https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!international/taiwan-detains-chinese-crewed-ship-after-subsea-cable-cut-enn25022504184