Editorial
The Yemeni Houthi rebel group yesterday attacked the American tanker Torm Thor sailing in the Gulf of Aden, where some Stars and Stripes warships were also present. The news was reported by the newspaper Al-Masirah, controlled by the Shiite group. By now we were almost used to attacks on cargo ships, now from threats via social media to compromise the submarine cables we would have moved on to facts because the pro-Iranian militiamen would have damaged four submarine cables in the Red Sea, between Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Djibouti, in East Africa. The Israeli economic newspaper reported the important news Globes, according to which the damaged cables would be:
AAE-1, connects Asia-Africa-Europe 1, extended 25 thousand kilometers, from Southeast Asia to Europe, through Egypt, connecting Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Oman, Emirates United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Yemen, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Italy and France;
Seacom, a 17 thousand kilometer cable that connects South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Djibouti, France and India;
Europe India Gateway (Eig), 15 thousand kilometer fiber optic cable connecting the United Kingdom, Portugal, Gibraltar, Monaco, France, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman, the Emirates and India. The TGN would also have been hit.
The damage caused by the Houthis”they are already causing serious disruptions to internet communications between Europe and Asia, with damage especially in the Gulf countries and India“, reports Globes. However, there is no official confirmation from local authorities and military commands. The damage to communications assets is estimated to be significant, but not critical because other cables pass through the same region connecting Asia, Africa and Europe and were not affected. According to estimates, repairing such a large number of undersea cables could take at least eight weeks and would involve exposure to risks due to Houthi activities. Telecommunications companies will be forced to look for companies willing to carry out the repair work and probably pay them an exorbitant fee because insurance companies no longer provide services for cable vessels operating in Yemen's waters. It is too dangerous to insure particular ships whose price ranges from 80-100 million dollars.
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