A brief ping of the automatic identification system (AIS) belonging to the Cameroon-registered freighter Shunxing-39 (順興39號) in August suggests that the “ghost vessel” allegedly involved in the cutting of an undersea Internet cable off Keelung in January is still active, a Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) investigation found.
The Coast Guard Administration and Chunghwa Telecom on Jan. 4 said that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by the Shunxin-39.
According to the Mainland Affairs Council, the vessel, owned by Jie Yang Trading Ltd, a Hong Kong company headed by Chinese citizen Guo Wenjie, has seven Chinese crewmembers, and is registered as Shun Xing-39 in Cameroon and Xing Shun-39 in Tanzania.
Photo copied by Chiu Chun-fu, Taipei Times
Compared with the case of the Togo-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號), whose captain has already been sentenced for cutting the Taiwan-Penghu submarine cable, the Shunxing-39 has turned off its AIS and related signals since the January incident.
The investigation found that after running silent for a long time, it was spotted off the coast of Busan, South Korea, on Aug. 14.
The Shunxing-39 had been switching between signal frequencies MMSI 613003889, which is an AIS signal registered in Cameroon, and the signal frequency for MMSI 677087200, registered in Tanzania, before it switched of its AIS after allegedly severing the undersea cable off Keelung, the investigation found.
The ship name registered under the two frequency names was highly similar, with the one registered in Cameroon named “Shun Xin” and the one registered in Tanzania named “Xing Shun,” it found.
The AIS for MMSI 677087200 had briefly been pinged off Busan in August, showing that the ship might still be in operation, or that a vessel allegedly operated by China accidentally switched to the wrong frequency, it said.
When reached for comment, Kuma Academy consultant Ho Cheng-hui (何澄輝) said the international community has begun introducing artificial intelligence technology to create a blacklist for such “dark ships.”
Taiwanese efforts alone cannot track the volume of such data, and international collaboration is necessary, Ho said, adding that Taiwan is currently working with Canada, the US, Japan, and EU countries to create a comprehensive list.
As China is opting for “selective prosecution” in such cases, Taiwan has no choice, but to work with other national authorities to monitor ships that may be hopping between different AIS frequencies, Ho said.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the state-run Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that the AIS system guards against those who operate within the law, but not those who operate outside of it.
Taiwan should step up its active radar pinging and visual recognition of ships, Su said, adding that if ships receive a radar signal without a corresponding AIS designation, they should treat it as suspicious and investigate.
Taiwan is likely able to identify ships like the Shunxing-39, which allegedly operate across multiple AIS frequencies, and should follow the example of Japan, South Korea and the Philippines by establishing a coast guard air wing, Su said.
The air wing would provide a 3D monitoring capability at a moderate cost and should be considered by the government, Su said.
Taiwan should also deploy a remotely operated vehicle to record the damage made to the cables and the pictures of the environment, Su said, adding that this would provide greater evidence than just citing the AIS frequency number.
If the cutting of undersea cables can be proven, it would lend greater credence to Taiwan’s claims internationally, and would increase the willingness of other nations to work with Taiwan and exchange information.
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