DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – Three Red Sea submarine cables that provide internet and telecommunications around the world have been severed. This is because waterways remain a target of attack. Yemen's Houthi rebelsofficials said on Monday. Meanwhile, a Houthi missile attack set a ship ablaze in the Gulf of Aden, but no one was injured.
What marks the line remains unclear. There are concerns that public telephones are being targeted in the Houthi operation, which the rebels describe as an attempt to pressure Israel to end the war. war with hamas In the Gaza Strip. 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 traffic was able to 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 behind those lines, which provide 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.
However, the Houthis deny targeting the cable. The rebels have blamed British and American military operations for the chaos, 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 include at least one of the following: Cargo bound for Irana major backer of the Houthis and later an aid ship bound for Houthi-held areas.
Despite the US-led airstrikes continuing for more than a month and a half, Houthi rebels remain effective To launch a serious attack. These include last month's attack on the Rubimar, a cargo ship loaded with fertilizer. sank on saturday After drifting for several days, American drone shot down It's 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.
Brigadier General Yahya Salih, the Houthi military spokesman, claimed the attack in a pre-recorded statement. He identified the ship as the MSC Sky II, belonging to the Swiss-based company Mediterranean Shipping Company, but sought to link it to Israel. The ship's details and last known location matched details of the attack.
The Houthis “will continue to obstruct Israeli navigation and access to occupied Palestinian ports until the invasion stops and the siege on the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip is lifted,” Salih said.
The U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet, which patrols the Middle East, and the MSC did not respond to questions about the 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 hundreds of meters 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.”