Beirut, Lebanon – Officials in the United States say undersea telecommunications cables were cut in the Red Sea on Tuesday, affecting 25 percent of data traffic between Asia and Europe.
A US official told the BBC they were trying to determine whether the cables had been sabotaged or were the result of an anchor being dragged along the beach.
But what are these cables? Who put them there? How important are they?
Here’s everything you need to know about the world of cable below.
What are the bottom cables for?
Communication.
Telecommunication signals and messages cross ocean boundaries through these cables at almost the speed of light.
16 fiber optic cables, accounting for 17 percent of all international Internet data traffic, run along the coast of the Red Sea.
Who owns them?
Almost all the world’s underground cables are owned by private companies – telecom operators or investors.
Only about 1 percent is owned (partially or fully) by the government.
What happens if cables are cut under the sea?
In short, global communication is disrupted.
“Subsidiary infrastructure is now … such a critical component of the global economy that … it can have a disproportionately large impact,” Nick Loxton, head of intelligence delivery at Joliet, told Al Jazeera.
Remember how the Red Sea contains 17 percent of all international Internet data traffic? If all the existing cables were to be taken out, it would disrupt Europe’s communication with India and East Asia and hurt North and East Africa.
Which cables were cut on Tuesday and how?
Four of the approximately 20 submarine cables in the Red Sea – Seacom, TGN-Gulf, Asia-Africa-Europe 1 and Europe India Gateway – were cut on Tuesday, according to HGC Global Communications, which operates the cables.
Officials are still trying to figure out how they were cut. Theories include that it may have caught the anchor cable or a vertical obstruction.
What effect did it have?
In the past, damaged cables have caused interruptions in Internet service, but “most … companies that rely on these cables have alternate routes,” according to Loxton.
HGC Global said that important traffic that goes through the Red Sea was rerouted.
Is the cable cut with the Houthi connection?
The Houthis have released one statement Denial of liability for cable cutting.
In February, the Houthis published a map on their Telegram channel showing cables running under the Red Sea.
Telecom companies linked to Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which opposes the Houthis, said they feared the rebels could target undersea cables.
“It is seen as a valid target for actors involved in increasingly violent conflicts,” Loxton commented on this idea. “It’s a high-value target that they can target for a relatively low cost.”
Why do some people think they did it?
The Houthis are attacking ships connected to Israel in the Red Sea in support of the Palestinian people.
They recently shot down a Belize-flagged, British-owned bulk carrier, the Rubymar, with two missiles. The ship has sunk and is leaking oil since the attack and is now believed to be carrying 41,000 tons of volatile oil.
Commercial ships sometimes lose their anchors, which then cut the cables. Loxton noted that, in 2023, a Russian fiber-optic cable was cut under the Baltic Sea when a Chinese container ship dragged its anchor on the beach.
Some experts believe the Houthis will need the help of an ally to destroy the cables, while others have said they may be able to destroy them themselves.
“I think, with the proliferation of technology, fundamentally democratizing things like drones…operations that previously seemed impossible to a relatively unsophisticated, non-state actor like the Houthis are now completely within their reach,” Loxton said. said
Where are the world’s underground cables?
everywhere
Today, about 380 cables are in operation, with a total length of more than 1.2 million kilometers (745,645 miles). It is enough to reach the moon and has enough left.
Cables are often bundled along the seabed, meaning that damage is often sustained by more than one cable.
The Red Sea has a series of cables running through its relatively shallow waters.
