Trans-Pacific Express subsea cable disruption off northern Taiwan

On 03 January 2025, an international undersea telecommunications cable off the northern coast of Taiwan, in waters near Keelung Harbor and the Yehliu headland, was reported damaged. According to the Taipei Times, Chunghwa Telecom notified Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration that the cable had been cut, and the operator said its backup equipment immediately rerouted traffic so that domestic telecommunications were not affected. Focus Taiwan reported that repairs were expected around the end of January, depending on weather and sea conditions.

The Coast Guard Administration identified a foreign freighter as the suspected cause. As reported by Focus Taiwan and the Taipei Times, the ship was the Cameroon-registered Shunxing 39, which authorities said was owned by a Hong Kong company, Jie Yang Trading, headed by a Chinese national, and crewed by Chinese nationals. Officials noted the vessel appeared to operate with two Automatic Identification System setups and was also linked to a Tanzania registration, complicating identification. Investigators suspected the freighter had dragged its anchor across the cable.

The Coast Guard located the vessel north of Yehliu and made radio contact, but the Taipei Times reported that rough seas prevented officers from boarding for inspection. The ship continued toward its destination, the South Korean port of Busan, and Taiwan asked South Korean authorities to assist with the investigation. The damaged system was described in reporting as a major international link co-owned by Chunghwa Telecom together with foreign operators.

Taiwanese authorities treated the break as a possible deliberate or negligent anchor-dragging by the suspect freighter, and the ship's concealed ownership, Chinese crew and multiple flags and AIS identities fueled suspicion of a China link. None of this was proven, weather prevented boarding, and the vessel left Taiwan's waters. The incident is best read as one entry in a cluster of subsea cable disruptions near Taiwan in early 2025, where intent and even responsibility frequently could not be established to evidentiary standards.