Houthi’s Cut Submarine Cables - Updated

This is a story that doesn’t seem to be getting any attention. I don’t know enough about telecommunications to evaluate the damage, but it seems serious to me. There doesn’t seem to be a prospect of repairing these cables anytime soon, either.

From cf.org:

3 submarine cables cut in the Red Sea between Jeddah and Djibouti. AAE-1, EIG and SEACOM/TGN-Eurasia are down. Note: Authorities looking at potential terror link. Confirmed: Submarine cables cut by Houthis in Yemen waters. To repair the cables, need permission from Yemen to enter their waters Insurance companies have canceled insurance for cable ships to ply in Yemen waters No maintenance cable ships willing to do repairs Cable ships cost $60-&100 million each. Who will take the risk? On December 24th, 2023, a Telegram channel linked to the Houthis published a map showing the networks of submarine communications cables in the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, the Arabian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. The image was accompanied by an ominous message: “There are maps of international cables connecting all regions of the world through the sea. It seems that Yemen is in a strategic location, as internet lines that connect entire continents — not only countries—pass near it.”

I like the part about Yemen being in a strategic location.

The map at the article does indeed show many undersea cables transit the Red Sea, in the immediate vicinity of the Houthis. The potential for destruction is large. I’m curious as to why this hasn’t drawn more interest. Am I looking in the wrong places?

There are 3 cables specifically mentioned as being cut. Here is a link for each one showing its path and connected nodes.

AAE-1 (Asia Africa Europe-1)

EIG (Europe India Gateway)

SEACOM/TGN-Eurasia

Surprising to me is how many cables connect to Djibouti. It looks to have more than any African location except for Egypt. Most of the connections between Europe and Asia run past Yemen. Again, amazing potential for damage here. Perhaps these cuts will galvanize some action by... I don't know. Operation Prosperity Guardian? Anyone?

Update: Via Zerohedge, this article in Globes stated a fourth cable has been cut.

This is causing serious disruption of Internet communications between Europe and Asia, with the main damage being felt in the Gulf countries and India. Estimates are that the damage to communications activities is significant but not critical because other cables pass through the same region linking Asia, Africa and Europe that have not been hit.