Taiwan charges captain of China-linked ship with damaging subsea cable | Shipping News

The case marks a first for Taiwan in prosecuting what it alleged is deliberate damage to a subsea cable.

Taiwanese prosecutors have formally charged the captain of a Chinese-crewed cargo ship that Taipei says severed one of its subsea cables earlier this year.

The Togo-flagged Hong Tai 58 was detained by Taiwan’s coastguard in February near the site of a cable breakdown amid allegations that it had deliberately dropped its anchor to cause damage.

The ship’s captain, who was only…