Anchors blamed for subsea cable cuts
14 April 2008
Anchors blamed for subsea cable cuts
Two merchant ships are reported to have been impounded, following an investigation by a subsea cable carrier, which had two lines cut in February causing disruption in the Middle East.
Reliance Globalcom, which operates the Flag Telecom subsea cable network, is understood to have used satellite imagery to identify two vessels which dropped anchor in the vicinity of the cables around the time they were cut.
Korean owned MV Hounslow and Iraqi owned MV Ann were identified as the culprits and both held at port in Dubai.
The Koreans are reported to have paid out around $60,000 in compensation, getting them off the hook. MV Ann remains impounded while Reliance chases another compensation claim.
In late January and early February a handful of undersea cable interruptions severely disrupted internet connectivity in parts of the Middle East and Asia. At the time, a number of conspiracy theories got a good airing, but now it appears that the cable cuts were just coincidence and not the work of saboteurs.
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