There is turmoil in the Red Sea. Yemen’s Houthi rebels continue to target ships in the waterway. Now the cutting of three underwater cables disrupts internet and telecommunication lines.
HGC Global Communications says the cable cuts affect 25% of the data traffic through the Red Sea route. The lines carry data to Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia.
“We estimate that over 90% of communications between Europe and Asia traverse submarine cables in the Red Sea,” says subsea cable expert Tim Stronge. There are 14 cables now running through the Red Sea and plans for another six, he says.
Communication group Seacom suggests anchor dragging could be at fault for the damage. Subsea cables can be severed by anchors, including those dropped from ships disabled in attacks. The company states “the amount of marine traffic” could have destroyed the cables.
Since November, Houthi rebels have targeted ships in the Red Sea and surrounding waters. The group says its attacks are an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
In early February, Yemen’s exiled government said that the Houthis planned to attack the cables. From disruption patterns, experts believe someone cut the lines on February 24.
The affected lines sit hundreds of feet below the surface of the waterway. It remains unclear how the Houthis could attack the subsea cables themselves. Analysts say the rebels likely don’t have the diving or salvage ability to do so.
The Houthis deny cutting the cables. They blame the damage on British and U.S. military operations. However, they did not offer any proof.
Despite more than a month and a half of U.S.-led airstrikes, Houthi rebels remain capable of launching major attacks in and around Yemen. Houthis downed an American drone worth tens of millions of dollars on February 19. They also attacked the cargo ship Rubymar in late February. It sank on Saturday after drifting for several days.
On Monday, the British military reported another attack on a ship in the Gulf of Aden. That deepwater basin links the Red Sea and the Arabian Sea. Brigadier General Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, claimed the action in a prerecorded statement. He identified the ship as the MSC Sky II. It sails for the Switzerland-based firm Mediterranean Shipping Co., but Saree sought to link the vessel to Israel.
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness, O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the Earth and of the farthest seas. — Psalm 65:5
