Australia-Singapore Cable (ASC) cut off Perth; ship’s master charged

Early on 1 August 2021, a section of the Australia Singapore Cable (ASC), a subsea telecommunications cable operated by Vocus, was damaged inside the Perth Submarine Cable Protection Zone, roughly 10 kilometres offshore from City Beach in Western Australia. The cable, lying at a depth of about 20 metres, was snagged and damaged, with the cost estimated at approximately 1.5 million dollars. The damage was reported to the Australian Federal Police on 3 August 2021.

An AFP investigation identified the container ship Maersk Surabaya as the vessel involved. Police said the ship had been anchored approximately 500 metres from the protection zone and dragged its anchor through the area in high winds, snagging the cable. After the vessel docked in Melbourne, AFP investigators searched it and seized ship logs. On 11 August 2021 the AFP charged the ship's master, a 59-year-old Ukrainian national, with engaging in negligent conduct as the master of a maritime vessel resulting in damage to the cable, contrary to the Telecommunications Act 1997. The offence carried a maximum penalty of three years imprisonment, and the AFP described it as believed to be its first prosecution for the offence. The case was later discontinued by the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions on 9 December 2022.

This was an accidental or negligent maritime incident, not an act of sabotage or hybrid warfare, and there is no indication of any state actor or hostile intent. The damage is attributed to a commercial container ship dragging its anchor in high winds near a designated cable protection zone, and the matter was handled as a domestic criminal offence under Australian telecommunications law. It is notable mainly as an early Australian attempt to prosecute negligent cable damage, and the prosecution was ultimately discontinued. The case illustrates the vulnerability of subsea cables to ordinary anchoring accidents and the legal difficulty of pursuing such cases.