Photo credit: Jason Bagley
Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Tuesday severed undersea internet cables in the Red Sea, including Asia-Africa-Europe-1, Seacom and TGN-Gulf, according to Hong Kong-based HGC Global Communications. Additionally, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported on Tuesday that an anti-ship ballistic missile fired by the Houthis struck the Liberian-flagged, Swiss-owned container M/V MSC SKY II in the Gulf of Aden, causing damage.
Seacom told The Associated Press that “preliminary examinations suggest that the affected portion is within Yemen’s maritime jurisdiction in the southern Red Sea.” He acknowledged that some services were temporarily disrupted and noted that changes could be made to redirect traffic.
Tata Communications, a subsidiary of the Indian conglomerate and carrier of the Seacom-TGN-Gulf line, told The Associated Press that it took prompt and appropriate corrective action when the line was disconnected. “We are actively investing in multiple cable consortiums to strengthen the resiliency of our network. As a result, we can seamlessly redirect our services in the event of a cable cut or interruption.” says Tata.
Yemen’s government warned a month ago that the Houthis were planning a cable attack, and the terror group carried out the attack on February 24. NetBlocks reported on February 26 that internet access provided by Seacom had been disrupted in the East African country of Djibouti.
The Houthis dispute claims that they targeted the cables, saying British and American military operations in the area led to the chaos.
However, a Houthi spokesman confirmed on Monday that they had targeted the container with “a number of suitable naval missiles” in support of Hamas in the Gaza war.
The Houthis’ attacks on the Red Sea have disrupted global shipping, forcing companies to reroute ships to longer and more expensive routes around southern Africa. The US and UK have designated the Houthis as a terrorist organization and have launched attacks on Houthi targets in Yemen.
