Taipei [Taiwan], March 2 : A Chinese freighter suspected of cutting an undersea cable connecting Taiwan's main island to Penghu County is believed to be owned by a Chinese state-run company, Taipei Times reported.
The vessel had reportedly used different names while docking at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months.
The Togo-flagged freighter, Hong Tai 58, was detained last Tuesday along with its Chinese crew after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was found severed, as per the Taipei Times.
According to CGA, 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 Automatic Identification System (AIS) displayed it as Hong Tai 58.
The CGA added that the ship's name would be verified by an investigation.
A review of AIS records by the Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) stated that the freighter Hong Tai visited the ports of Kaohsiung, Anping, Keelung, and Busan, South Korea, in September.
At some point after that, the vessel reportedly switched off its AIS signal.
According to the Taipei Times, in January, the freighter reactivated its AIS and was detected near Kaohsiung Port. The signal remained on until 11 am last Thursday when the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) escorted the vessel to Anping Port.
The records also showed that Hong Tai had two International Maritime Organization (IMO) identification numbers, violating the agency's rules.
Also, the freighter's Maritime Mobile Service Identities (MMSI) identification number had been used by the Tanzania-flagged Hong Da 8 and China-flagged Jin Long 389.
The Jin Long 389's transponder has remained silent for years, and the Hong Da 8, which is active, has operated with three MMSI numbers.
The records suggested that Hong Tai 58, Hong Da 8 and Jin Long 389 were the same freighter.
Chinese state-run China COSCO Shipping Corp and Guangdong-based Jin Long Maritime Transport owned and operated the Jin Long 389, the records showed.
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 February 2.
Earlier, experts said the CGA should be applauded for its swift response, but each cable-cutting incident was a blow to national security and government finance.
Taiwan must come up with a strategy to prevent further attempts to sabotage submarine cables, they added.
Further, the Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Puma Shen said the government should track ships that have engaged in suspicious activities, and it should cooperate with friendly nations in maritime matters,
Shared intelligence would enable the government to name the suspected ships and bring pressure on Beijing, he said.
Taiwan should strengthen its use of intelligence-gathering assets and coast guard patrol ships and severely punish saboteurs to deter Chinese crews, Institute for National Defense and Security Research fellow Shen Ming-shih said.
The government should obtain more rotary and low-speed fixed-wing aircraft configured for maritime surveillance and increase multi-agency collaboration efficiency, he said.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor