Repairs Begin on Damaged Undersea Cables in Red Sea

Repairs have commenced on three undersea telecommunications cables damaged in the Red Sea in February, with the AAE-1 cable being repaired and put back into service by a ship owned by E-Marine, a subsidiary of Emirates Telecommunications Group. The other two cables, Seacom and EIG, are also expected to be repaired by the same ship. The cables were severed by the anchor of a cargo ship sunk by Houthi militias, highlighting the vulnerability of critical underwater infrastructure and the challenges of repairs in a conflict zone.

Negotiations were required to gain access to infrastructure in Yemeni waters, complicated by the divided government and conflict in the region. The downtime forced operators to reroute traffic, necessitating the building of new digital highways at considerable expense. The Houthis have intensified attacks on ships in the Red Sea, further disrupting shipping routes and raising concerns about the security of undersea cables used for data transmission.

The consortium operating the AAE-1 cable faced challenges in obtaining approvals from Yemen’s government, with issues related to one of the consortium members, TeleYemen, prompting a criminal investigation. Attacks on commercial and military vessels by the Houthis in the Red Sea have forced ships to bypass the region, impacting freight rates and raising doubts about the security of undersea cables. This situation underscores the importance of maintaining and protecting critical infrastructure in conflict zones for uninterrupted global connectivity.

Source .