Chinese Engineers Patenting Submarine Cable-Cutting Tech
By Harry Baldock, Total Telecom
January 14, 2025
The patents relate to an “ocean towing type cutting device” that can be used to severe cable on the seabed
On Friday, a report from Newsweek shared the news that Chinese engineers had logged multiple patents for anchor-like devices specifically designed to sever submarine cables.
The report highlighted a 2020 patent filed by engineers at China’s Lishui University that said it had built a more simplified and cost-effective method for cutting cables on the sea floor.
“With the development of science and technology, more and more submarine cables and communication cables are laid on the seabed of all parts of the world and the cables need to be cut off in some emergency situations,” the Lishui University authors wrote in their patent application. “The traditional cutting method needs first to detect the position of the cables, then excavate and salvage them for cutting. This process is complex, a lot of expensive equipment is needed, and the cost is too high. There is a need for a fast, low-cost cutting apparatus for submarine cables to accomplish this task.”
The solution itself was based upon a 2009 patent from the State Oceanic Administration of China (SOA) that featured an “ocean towing type cutting device”.
In their 2009 patent, the SOA engineers explained the rationale behind developing such a device was as a method for the destruction of illegal cables in Chinese waters.
Submarine cables critical infrastructure and their destruction can cause major connectivity disruption on a national scale. This is particularly exacerbated in cases where there are few or even no alternative cables available to carry data, leaving areas completely cut off from the internet or reliant on emergency backups like satellite.
The elephant in the room here, of course, is the extent to which Chinese ships have been involved in numerous submarine cable breaks in recent years – accidental or otherwise.
In 2023, the trailing anchor of the Chinese ship Newnew Polar Bear damaged the Balticconnector natural gas pipeline, as well as the EE-S1 submarine telecoms cable. A Chinese investigation confirmed the ship was responsible in 2024, but claimed the damage was accidental rather than deliberate sabotage.
