Chinese barge captain not prosecuted over Dongyin subsea cable damage

Taipei, July 15 (CNA) The Lienchiang District Prosecutors Office announced Wednesday that it will not prosecute the captain of a Chinese-flagged work barge, which damaged a subsea cable off Dongyin Island on March 30, citing insufficient evidence.

According to a statement from the prosecutors' office, the incident occurred on March 30, when captain Ho (何) of the Hai Hong Gong 66 was carrying out a towing operation to remove the stranded Chinese fishing vessel Min Lian Yu 63896.

Prosecutors stated that a fragment of the stranded fishing vessel struck and damaged the core wire of the Dongyin-Beigan section of Taiwan-Matsu Subsea Cable No. 3, which is owned and operated by Chunghwa Telecom.

During questioning, Ho denied intentionally damaging the cable, saying he had contacted Chunghwa Telecom personnel before beginning the operation to confirm where the vessel could safely anchor.

Ho said there were no abnormalities during the operation and he immediately halted work after being notified that the cable had been damaged.

The prosecutors' statement said after Min Lian Yu 63896 ran aground, its owner initially proposed a salvage plan that included a preliminary underwater survey.

However, because of national security concerns, the owner later submitted a revised plan removing the underwater inspection, which was approved by the relevant Taiwanese authorities.

Because no underwater survey was conducted before the operation and underwater work was not permitted, those involved could not determine the conditions around the stranded vessel or the exact location of the subsea cable.

As a result, it was decided that Chunghwa Telecom personnel would identify a safe anchoring location that avoided the cable before the work barge dropped anchor, according to the statement.

Based on the testimony of Chunghwa Telecom employees and records of messages on Ho's mobile phone, prosecutors found that the captain confirmed the anchoring position with Chunghwa Telecom personnel before dropping anchor and attempted to avoid the cable area.

According to Chunghwa Telecom employees, the original plan was to lift the stranded fishing vessel intact, but after that failed, the crew switched to breaking up the vessel for removal.

No one at the scene knew the subsea cable lay directly beneath the stranded fishing vessel, and no one warned Ho to stop the operation, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors therefore concluded that although the salvage method changed during the operation, Ho could not have known the stranded vessel was directly above the cable because no underwater survey had been conducted beforehand.

They also found that Ho had followed approved instructions for the salvage operation, making it difficult to conclude that he had acted negligently or intentionally damaged the cable.

The Lienchiang District Prosecutors' Office therefore closed the case and decided not to prosecute Ho due to insufficient evidence.