The vessel Shunxing 39 was to continue to South Korea after being briefly detained by Taiwan's coast guard on Friday, suspected of having dragged its anchor over the cable northeast of the island.
But on Tuesday, a source within the coast guard says that the vessel's identification signal, used to transmit a vessel's position, has been turned off.
It's illegal, but it has left our jurisdiction, says the source to AFP.
Taiwan has asked South Korean authorities for help in investigating the cable break, as the coast guard was unable to board the Shunxing 39 due to bad weather. According to sources, there is currently no "clear evidence" that the vessel has damaged the cable.
The Cameroon-flagged Shunxing 39 was stopped by the coast guard on Friday after the Taiwanese telecommunications company Chunghwa Telecom reported damage to a communications cable.
