The fate of broken submarine cables in a critical location is confusing – “Someone is paying a lot for this now” – 2024-03-09 11:08:21

– Now it has been shown how vulnerable this system is.

This is what the Network Director of the Hybrid Expertise Center thinks Jukka Savolainen news about damaged data cables in the Red Sea at the beginning of the week.

Hong Kong-based network operator HGC Communications previously reported that at least four of the 15 submarine cables in the Red Sea region have been badly damaged for an unknown reason.

It has been feared that the incident will affect the movement of data between Europe and Asia, as 80 percent of data traffic going west from Asia goes through Red Sea cables. According to HGC Communications, the damaged cables now cover about 25 percent of the area’s data traffic.

Large-scale damage to the cables could therefore also directly affect Europe, says Savolainen.

However, according to the network director, there is no cause for concern in light of the current information. The internet connection running along cables is naturally capable of finding alternative routes to replace broken lines.

– When the cable is cut, that data communication is simply pushed to another route, Savolainen clarifies.

– At most, the matter could therefore affect the speed and prices of data traffic coming from Asia, but even this only to a small extent.

Jukka Savolainen of the Hybrid Expertise Center believes that an economic motive could be behind the damage to the Red Sea sea cables. HYBRID COE

However, according to Savolainen, the situation in the Red Sea is not good news.

– At last, after this, everyone will understand that it is possible to cut the connection between Asia and Europe at this particular point, he says.

Even if the destruction of one cable does not cause more damage, if several lines are broken, the inconvenience would also increase.

– If some very central connections were to fall out completely, then a complete haze would form in that area, Savolainen describes.

– In such a case, it would probably be necessary to take some kind of restriction measures to secure the flow of the most important traffic. So, for example, by raising the price, all so-called unnecessary demand would be removed.

“It won’t break by accident”

According to Savolainen, globally critical submarine cables are not limited to just one specific location. Instead, according to him, significant concentrations can be found, for example, in the North Atlantic, where the cables connecting Europe and North America run.

In addition, one of the largest globally significant concentrations of submarine cables is located in the Red Sea.

– Hardly anywhere can so many data-carrying cables fit in such a small narrow space, explains the expert.

The most significant cables for Finland, on the other hand, are located in the Baltic Sea, on the route from Finland to Europe via Estonia, Sweden, Germany and Poland.

The fate of sea cables has recently been feared also in the vicinity of Finland. Most recently, in October 2023, there was news in connection with damage to the corroded Balticconnector gas pipe of the sea cable between Finland and Estonia.

– The cables won’t break by accident, but if someone were to intentionally damage several cables, the communication here would suffer significantly in all directions.

The concern has been slowly raised recently, and for example NATO has established a center whose specific task is to develop the protection of underwater infrastructure.

According to Savolainen, there is still a lot to be done.

– Protection is a challenging task. However, in addition to that, efforts should also be made to have the capacity to quickly repair such possible damage.

Financial interests?

The reason for the cable damage seen in the Red Sea is still unclear. However, many parties have suspected Yemen’s Houthi rebels, who have attacked several cargo ships in the area in recent weeks, to be responsible.

According to another theory, the cables could have been broken by the anchor of the cargo ship Rubymar. The British ship in question was abandoned by the crew in the Red Sea on February 18 when it was attacked by the Houthis. Later, the cargo ship Rubymar sank.

If the damage to the cables had been intentional, the motive of the act would also raise questions.

According to Savolainen, the situation has the greatest impact on the parties responsible for the operation of the cables so far. It is estimated that the repair work may take a long time due to the use of fire in the area.

– We will see later which companies will improve. After all, the companies responsible for the cables are hardly able to get an income and also have to be responsible for repairing the cable, which is an expensive job.

Savolainen considers the economic motive to be a worm for possible intentional damage to submarine cables.

– If more cables are cut, it could cause significant additional costs for the European economy. It could then be related to such a global economic struggle.

However, according to the expert, the victims so far are mostly individual, typically multinational companies.

– Time will tell which companies’ cables have been cut there and who will therefore suffer financial losses. But someone is paying a lot for this now, Savolainen summarizes.