A few days after signs of cable disruptions surfaced in the Red Sea, experts are pointing to a more prosaic explanation than initial fears of targeted sabotage. The consensus now, according to Associated Press is that a ship anchor accidentally swept across vital subsea lines, severing cables and impacting connectivity across Asia and the Middle East.
According to the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), roughly 15 undersea cables thread through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where shallow seabed waters make them particularly vulnerable to maritime incidents. At the weekend, three major systems — SEA-ME-WE-4, IMEWE, and FALCON GCX — were severed. Kentik’s director of Internet analysis, Doug Madory, added a fourth line, Europe India Gateway, to the list on September 9.
Microsoft’s Azure network status page flagged elevated latency beginning around 06:00 UTC on September 6, citing damage to undersea cables. While not all traffic collapsed, those whose data traversed the Middle East certainly felt the slowdown. Traffic that was routed elsewhere remained untouched.
Connectivity watchdog NetBlocks traced slowdowns and disruptions in at least ten countries, including India, Pakistan, and the UAE, which were especially prevalent among customers of the local ‘Etisalat’ and ‘Du’ Internet providers. Rerouting traffic brought services back online, but at the cost of degraded performance.
The findings of the ICPC diverge from earlier speculation and concerns about potential Houthi sabotage linked to regional conflict. As of yet, there is no evidence supporting hostile intent in this case. The Houthi-run Al-Masirah news outlet did acknowledge the cable outage — citing NetBlocks data — but did not claim responsibility. Yemen’s government in exile has suggested that the Houthis planned or were behind previous instances of cable damage in the region, though the rebels deny any involvement.
Restoration of the cables won’t be quick. Specialized cable ships must be deployed, and repairs can easily take weeks. And that’s without factoring the complications of regional geopolitics and conflicts into the equation.
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