Taiwan Blacklists 52 Chinese-Owned Ships Over Security Concerns

Taiwan has placed 52 Chinese-owned ships operating under flags of convenience on a blacklist following the recent severing of a subsea communications cable near the island in early January.

The National Coast Guard Administration (NCGA) identified the Cameroon-registered cargo ship Shunxin 39 as a suspect in the cable damage incident. In response, Taiwan is targeting vessels flagged under nations such as Cameroon, Tanzania, Mongolia, Togo, and Sierra Leone, citing these countries' lax safety and regulatory standards in ship registration.

Out of the 52 blacklisted vessels, 15 were flagged as potential threats due to their prolonged presence in Taiwanese waters over the past year. Among these, one ship was classified as a “high threat,” while the others were categorized as medium or low risk.

Earlier this month, the Shunxin 39 was instructed to return to waters near the Port of Keelung for investigation. However, rough weather prevented coast guard officers from boarding the ship, and it was unable to be detained. The vessel subsequently continued its journey to South Korea. Investigations later revealed the ship is owned by Hong Kong-based Jie Yang Trading, a company led by a Chinese national.

Taiwan’s National Security Bureau announced that vessels with a history of misreporting information will be added to a priority inspection list at Taiwanese ports. Additionally, if any flagged ships come within 24 nautical miles of Taiwan’s coast near undersea cable zones, the coast guard will be deployed to board and investigate.

Concerns have also been raised about other suspicious vessels near Taiwan. For example, the Belize-flagged Russian cargo ship Vasily Shukshin reportedly loitered near Taiwan’s Fangshan undersea cable landing station for over three weeks in December.

Ray Powell, director of the Stanford University-affiliated SeaLight maritime analysis group, stated that the ship was “aimlessly criss-crossing” the area “for no apparent reason.” The vessel has since started its return to Russia.

According to Windward, a maritime data provider, incidents of underwater infrastructure sabotage have risen dramatically, from just two cases in 2000 to 75 in 2024. Regions around Taiwan and the Baltic Sea are seeing a significant rise in such activity.