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After Taiwan accused the "Shunxing 39" of destroying a submarine cable, China and the shipping company have now denied the accusations and responsibility for the severed cable off Taiwan. The director of the company Jie Yang Trading Limited, Guo Wenjie, confirmed that the ship had passed the north coast of Taiwan. However, the freighter had nothing to do with the damage to the cable, said Guo, adding that the freighter complied with all regulations. Guo Wenjie did not explain why the ship was off Taiwan for almost a month. The company is registered in Hong Kong, Guo Wenjie is a mainland Chinese.

The 'Shunxing 39', suspected of damaging a subsea telecoms cable off Taiwan, has stopped transmitting its AIS signals on the high seas, Taiwan’s Coastguard said on Jan 7. The vessel was supposed to sail to South Korea after it was briefly detained by Taiwan’s Coastguard on Jan 3 on suspicion of dragging its anchor over an international subsea cable northeast of the island. The island’s main telecommunications provider, Chunghwa Telecom, received a notification on the morning that the cable, known as the Trans-Pacific Express Cable, had been damaged. The cable also connects to South Korea, Japan, China and the USA. Ccommunications were quickly rerouted after the damage was detected. Taiwan has asked the South Korean authorities for assistance in the investigation into the ship, after rough seas prevented them boarding the vessel near northern Taiwan, and the ship has left the Taiwanese jurisdiction.

Unusual maneuvers by Russian ships have been observed in the southern Kattegat, indicating possible underwater operations. Particularly conspicuous were the presence of the tugs "Sergeji Balk" and "SB123". The "Sergeji Balk" has been observed since the afternoon of Jan 6 on the deep-water route that leads from the Great Belt through the Kattegat. It was moving up and down a stretch of about 21.5 nautical mile east of Grenaa on northeast and southwest courses. Since the evening of Jan 6, it has been supported by the "SB123", which was obviously specially ordered from Baltiysk. The operation, in which at least two other units were involved, was stopped around noon on Jan 8, and both tugs started transiting through the Great Belt into the central Baltic Sea. The recorded movements have nothing in common with a normal passage. As far as publicly available information suggests, submarine cables did not appear to be the direct focus of current interest. Instead, another suspicion is coming into focus: Not far from the conspicuous search strips of the Russian units, the "Yi Peng 3" had been anchoredi. The bulk carrier was identified at both locations where damage to submarine cables between Sweden and Lithuania and between Finland and Germany was detected in mid-November and are the subject of further investigations. The "SB123" had already aroused suspicion in the same sea area, when the tug, together with the 'Chusovoy -GS-31', a hydroacoustic reconnaissance vessel, had moved towards Skagen on Oct 4, 2024 and anchored in the Great Belt in the sea area between Grenaa, Seelands Odde and Anholt. It remained nearby for some time before continuing north. At that time the laying of underwater cables near an offshore wind farm Anholt may have aroused Russian interest. The "Chusovoy" is capable of deploying underwater equipment. The "Sergeji Balk" was observed on Dec 31, 2024, together with an unidentified Kilo-class submarine, passing through the Great Belt and escorted by the Danish Navy. Both took shelter from the approaching storm southeast of Skagen in Denmark on January 1, 2025. hey were joined on Jan 2 by the missile corvette "Soobrazitelny", which accompanied the Russian tanker "General Skobelev" and the roro vessel "Sparta II" on their way to the Mediterranean. The "Sergeij Balk" and the submarine, which was believed to be the B-608 "Mozhaisk" to be delivered to the Pacific Fleet, stayed in the sea area around Skagen for a relatively long time, it was reasonable to assume that there was a technical problem on one of the two vessels. This suspicion was reinforced by the departure of the "SB123" and another tug, the "Evgeniy Churov". The apparently inexplicable movements of the "Sergeji Balk", the "SB 123" and two other units linked to Russia that can now be observed indicate a different order situation. In addition, on the morning of Jan 8, the corvette "Soobrazitelny" and an unidentifiable submarine were spotted heading south in the northern part of the Kattegat, east of the island of Läsoe.

On Dec 21, 2024, at 11.10 p.m. the 'Seaspan Lumaco' was boarded by four unarmed perpetrators four nautical miles west of the South Harbour Anchorage, Manila, in pos. 14° 32.73' N 120° 62.08' E. Nothing was reported stolen. The ship arrived in Subic Bay on Dec 23.

The Chinese-owned 'Shun Xing 39', suspected of damaging a subsea cable off the north coast of Taiwan, appears to have been using two different AIS transponders at the same time, according to Taiwan's Coastguard. On Jan 3 at about 12.40 p.m. the Chungwha Telecom notified Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) that a subsea communications cable had been severed just off the coast of Keelung, which was a component of the Trans-Pacific Express, a high-speed fiber optic cable linking China, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and the United States. At about 5 p.m. a patrol boat intercepted the Hong Kong-owned 'Xing Shun 39' at a position near the cable break. The Coastguard crew was unable to board the freighter because of rough weather conditions, and instead of heading for Keelung, as directed, the 'Xing Shun 39' got under way for Busan, and departed Taiwanese jurisdiction later that day. The CGA identified the vessel as the 'Shunxing-39', a ship that does not exist in IMO records. The authorities now believed that the freighter was using two different AIS devices and two different identities: its legitimate name, 'Xing Shun 39', and a closely-matched fake name, 'Shunxing-39'. By switching back and forth, the ship created an interrupted AIS record. The ship appeared to switch AIS transponders at about the same time that the Taiwan CGA asked it to halt for an inspection. "Shunxing-39" disappeared from AIS tracking at 4.51 p.m., and 'Xing Shun 39' appeared one minute later at a position about 50 feet away. Though the freighter is now out of reach of Taiwanese authorities, they have asked officials in the port of Busan to help in obtaining evidence from the vessel if it arrives in the port. The case will be forwarded to the prosecutor's office in Keelung for possible criminal or civil actions against the freighter. In the meantime, the CGA is launching a comprehensive review of its procedure for responding to potential cable sabotage incidents involving ships, and it is coordinating with other security agencies. The cable is expected to be repaired by Feb 3.