DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Three Red Sea submarine cables providing internet and telecommunications around the world have been cut as the waterway remains a target of Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials say. announced on Monday. Meanwhile, in the Gulf of Aden, a ship believed to have been attacked by the Houthis was set ablaze.
What marks the line remains unclear. The Houthis have described the cable as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, and are feared to be a target of the operation. However, the Houthis deny attacking the front line.
Global shipping through the Red Sea, a key route for cargo and energy from Asia and the Middle East to Europe, has already been disrupted, but sabotage of communications links could extend a months-long crisis. There is.
Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications said the cut lines include Asia Africa Europe 1, Europe India Gateway, Seacom and TGN Gulf. It said the cuts would affect 25% of traffic flowing through the Red Sea. The company described the Red Sea route as important for moving data from Asia to Europe and said it had begun rerouting traffic.
Tim Strong, an undersea cable expert at Telegeography, a Washington-based telecommunications market research firm, said HGC Global Communications has confirmed that the Seacom-TGN-Gulf line is actually one wire at the point of disconnection. Regardless, it was explained that they are two separate cables.
In response to questions from The Associated Press, Seacom said, “Initial inspections indicate that the affected portion is within Yemen's maritime jurisdiction in the southern Red Sea.” Some services were disrupted, but it said it was rerouting traffic that could be rerouted.
Tata Communications, part of the Indian conglomerate that supports the Seacom-TGN-Gulf line, told The Associated Press that it “immediately initiated appropriate corrective action” after the line was disconnected.
“We have invested in various cable consortia to increase our diversity, so in the event of a cable cut or failure, we can automatically reroute our services,” Tata said. Ta.
Other companies providing data to Africa, Asia and the Middle East did not immediately respond to inquiries from The Associated Press on Monday.
In early February, Yemen's internationally recognized government-in-exile claimed that the Houthis were planning an electrical attack. The line appears to have been cut on February 24, and the organization NetBlocks noticed internet access disrupted in the East African nation of Djibouti two days later. Seacom serves Djibouti. There is also turmoil in Bahrain, an island kingdom in the Persian Gulf.
However, the Houthis deny targeting the cable. The rebels have blamed the chaos on British and American military operations, but have provided no evidence to support their claims and have made false claims in the past.
“Hostile actions in Yemen by British and American naval forces have disrupted undersea cables in the Red Sea, endangering the security of international communications and the normal flow of information,” Houthi-controlled Yemeni Transport said. the ministry announced. The capital, Sanaa, is controlled by rebel groups.
Rebels have repeatedly targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters since November over the Israeli-Hamas war. These vessels included at least one ship with cargo destined for Iran, the Houthis' main backer, and an aid ship later bound for Houthi-controlled areas.
Despite more than a month and a half of U.S.-led airstrikes, the Houthi rebels remain capable of launching large-scale attacks. These include last month's attack on the Rubimar, a cargo ship loaded with fertilizer that sank on Saturday after being adrift for several days, and the downing of a U.S.-made drone worth tens of millions of dollars.
The Houthis have insisted they will continue their attacks until Israel ceases combat operations in the Gaza Strip, a move that has outraged the Arab world and helped the group gain international recognition.
Meanwhile, the British military's Royal Maritime Trade Operations Center separately warned on Monday of a new attack in the Gulf of Aden. Private security firm Ambry said the targeted ship was a Liberian-flagged Israeli container ship that had issued a distress call after sustaining damage.
“The container ship reportedly suffered two explosions, the first occurring 'away' from the port and the second damaging the ship's holding block and leading container,” Ambry said. said. “The explosion caused a further fire on board, which the crew were trying to extinguish.”
Ambry said there were no injuries to the ship's crew. The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Middle East, did not immediately respond to questions about the attack.
The Houthis did not immediately claim an attack, but typically take several hours to acknowledge an attack.
It remains unclear how the Houthis were able to attack the undersea cable itself. It is not known whether the rebels have the diving or salvage capabilities to target battle lines located hundreds of meters (feet) below the waterway's surface.
However, undersea cables can be severed, such as by anchors dropped from some ships that are ineffective against attacks. A drifting ship whose anchor scraped the sea may be the culprit.
“Our team believes it is plausible that it may have been affected by anchor drag due to the amount of maritime traffic this region handles and the low seabed in many areas of the Red Sea,” Seacom said. . “This can only be confirmed once the repair vessel arrives on the scene.”
There are currently 14 cables running through the Red Sea, with six more planned, said Stronge, an expert on undersea cables.
“We estimate that more than 90% of communications between Europe and Asia pass through the Red Sea submarine cables,” he said. “Fortunately, carriers have a high degree of redundancy built into their systems. There are many cables running through the Red Sea.”
