In the Red Sea, the most likely cause of damage to three telecommunications cables may be the thrown anchor of the Rubymar cargo ship, which was attacked by the Houthis.
Damage to cables in the Red Sea
According to Bloomberg, citing a trading company that operates in the region, Rubymar dropped anchor during shelling by the Houthis in the Red Sea.
International Cable Protection Committee general manager Ryan Wopshall said damage occurred as a result.
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In mid-February, off the western coast of Yemen, a Belize-flagged commercial vessel, Rubymar, loaded with 41,000 tons of fertilizer, was attacked by ballistic missiles. A few days later, global Internet cables were damaged in the same place.
The crew abandoned the 172-meter Rubymar after dropping one of the anchors. The ship drifted for almost two weeks through the cable-rich Red Sea area before sinking.
Bloomberg notes that although telecommunications data that passes along the damaged cables was rerouted, the incident provides an opportunity to understand how vulnerable critical underwater infrastructure can be.
The location of the damage creates significant problems for cable repair. Operators are trying to determine what type of insurance and security a service company requires to operate in the area of potential Houthi attacks.
