Seacom Waits for Permits to Start Red Sea Cable Repairs
By Admire Moyo, ITWeb
March 8, 2024
Seacom is waiting for permits to start repairing its broken submarine cable in the Red Sea.
This, after the subsea cable operator encountered a service-affecting outage on its cable system on 24 February.
Without disclosing the cause of the incident, at the time, the company said the disruption was only on the segment of the cable that runs from Mombasa (Kenya) to Zafarana (Egypt).
The company provided an update on the cable today, saying: “Our repair partner, E-marine, has taken proactive steps this week by applying for repair permits through the appropriate authorities. As part of the regulatory process, we anticipate permitting could take up to eight weeks to obtain.
“While we remain optimistic that the cable repairs will proceed as planned during Q2, as previously communicated, we are mindful of the ongoing unrest in the region. This situation may introduce unforeseen challenges that could potentially impact our repair timeline.”
The Red Sea is experiencing deadly tensions, with the Syrian-based Houthi rebels attacking commercial ships in the region. The Houthis said they will not stop their attacks until Israel ceases its war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip. At some point, they made threats to disrupt the internet cables in the Red Sea.
The New York Times reports that the mysterious damage to vital communications cables under the Red Sea has raised concerns about whether the conflict in the Middle East is now beginning to threaten the global internet.
“We are closely monitoring the situation and will continue to keep all stakeholders updated on the progress of the repair operations as events unfold,” says Seacom.