Underwater data cables cut as Houthi attacks continue in vital waterway

Three Red Sea underwater cables providing internet and telecommunications around the world have been cut as the waterway remains a target of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, officials said.

Meanwhile, a Houthi missile attack set a ship on fire in the Gulf of Aden, but caused no injuries.

What cut the lines remains unclear. There has been concern about the cables being targeted in the Houthi campaign, which the rebels describe as an effort to pressure Israel to end its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The Houthis have denied attacking the lines, however.

While global shipping has already been disrupted through the Red Sea, a crucial route for cargo and energy shipments from Asia and the Middle East to Europe, the sabotage of telecommunication lines could further escalate the crisis.

Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications described the cuts as affecting 25 per cent of the traffic flowing through the Red Sea. It described the Red Sea route as crucial for data moving from Asia to Europe and said it had begun rerouting traffic.

HGC Global Communications described the Seacom-tgn-gulf line as being two separate cables when it is actually one at the area of the cut, according to Tim Stronge, a subsea cable expert with Telegeography, a Washington-based telecommunications market research company.

Seacom said that “initial testing indicates the affected segment lies within Yemeni maritime jurisdictions in the southern Red Sea”. It said it was rerouting the traffic it was able to change, though some services were down.

Tata Communications, part of the Indian conglomerate behind the Seacom-tgn-gulf line, said it “initiated immediate and appropriate remedial actions” after the line was cut.

In early February, Yemen’s internationally recognised government in exile alleged that the Houthis planned to attack the cables.

But the Houthis have denied targeting the cables. The rebels, inset, blamed the disruptions on British and US military operations but did not offer evidence to support the allegation and have made false claims in the past.