Commercial shipping activity may have severed vital internet cables

On the recent weekend, incidents occurred in the Red Sea that resulted in significant disruption of internet access across multiple regions including Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Experts believe that a commercial vessel was responsible for damaging submarine cables that are crucial for international internet connectivity. The International Cable Protection Committee reported that during this event, 15 submarine cables running through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which separates East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula, became compromised. The affected cables included major lines such as the South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 4, the India-Middle East-Western Europe, and the FALCON GCX cables, with the Europe India Gateway cable also confirmed damaged shortly thereafter. Although initial reports suggested the damage occurred near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, these claims were not officially acknowledged by Saudi authorities or the cable management companies involved. Experts pointed out that incidents like this are often linked to commercial shipping activities, particularly regarding ships dropping anchors. John Wrottesley, operations manager of the committee, noted that about 30% of yearly damage to submarine cables results from dragged anchors, leading to approximately 60 faults annually. Doug Madory, from internet analysis firm Kentik, indicated that at least 10 countries were impacted by this disturbance, which affected internet connectivity significantly, though he clarified that no nation was entirely offline. The situation exemplifies the vulnerability of undersea cables, which are vital to global internet infrastructure. These cables carry vast amounts of international traffic, and while internet service providers usually have multiple routes to reroute data, any disruption can lead to latency issues for users. The recent incident not only highlights the fragility of these connections but also emphasizes the ongoing risks posed by commercial maritime activity in these critical regions for internet traffic.