Red Sea cable cuts show why subsea sector is more critical than ever, industry warns
According to AP News this week, multiple undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea have disrupted internet access across Yemen, the Gulf, and as far as India and Pakistan. Microsoft confirmed connectivity degradation, while NetBlocks and national operators in Kuwait and Pakistan reported outages affecting major international cable systems.
The cause of the incident remains unclear. Experts note that ship anchors, natural hazards, or deliberate attacks can sever subsea cables. The Red Sea disruption comes amid heightened regional tensions and follows warnings from governments that subsea infrastructure could be targeted.
Iain Grainger (pictured), Chief Executive of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), said: “The Red Sea cable cuts show that subsea infrastructure is no longer a background issue, it is frontline critical. When cables fail, nations lose connectivity, financial flows are interrupted, and economies feel the shock immediately. This sector is now more critical than ever to global security and stability.”
Subsea cables carry 99 per cent of the world’s internet traffic and support $50 trillion in annual financial transactions. They also carry growing volumes of renewable electricity through offshore interconnectors. Disruption in one region quickly ripples through global systems, affecting communications, markets, and energy flows.
Grainger continued: “The world depends on the marine contracting sector to repair these lifelines. But ensuring resilience is not automatic. It requires sustained investment in vessels and equipment, fresh talent entering the workforce to complement today’s experienced specialists and regulatory frameworks that enable crews to respond without delay. Building this preparedness is a shared responsibility between governments, regulators, and industry.”
IMCA, in collaboration with the European Subsea Cables Association (ESCA), has urged governments and regulators to treat subsea resilience as a matter of national and international security. The industry is calling for urgent reform of regulatory frameworks to enable faster repair mobilisation; strategic investment in dedicated vessels and critical equipment; training and succession programmes to bring through new generations of cable engineers and offshore crews; and improved cross-border cooperation, recognising that outages rarely respect national boundaries.
Grainger concluded: “What is happening in the Red Sea today could happen anywhere tomorrow. The resilience of subsea lifelines must be embedded in security and energy strategies worldwide. Without urgent action, we risk being caught unprepared.”