Yemen Subsea Cable Repairs Delayed
By Manny Pham, Developing Telecoms
May 07, 2024
Repair work to three damaged subsea cables off the coast of Yemen was delayed due to access disputes in the Red Sea, stemming from the ongoing civil war in the country.
Bloomberg reported, the Yemeni government granted permission for work to begin on the Seacom and EIG cables, but refused permission on the AAE-1 cable as it clashed with consortium members of the infrastructure.
The disagreement stems from the control of TeleYemen, the country’s only mobile network operator. It has two branches, one in Aden under the control of the Yemeni government and the other in Sanaa under Houthi rebel control. The government refused to cooperate with the militia group and sought to appoint a representative from the Aden branch.
However the consortium did not approve alternative representation and Yemen's government declines to grant a permit, according to documents seen by Bloomberg.
The cables were taken offline when the Rubymar vessel was sunk during the ongoing conflict in Yemen in February. Data on the damaged cables were rerouted but highlighted vulnerabilities of subsea cables and repairs needed in a conflict zone.
The government-controlled side of TeleYemen requested the nation’s telecoms ministry to demand subsea cable maintenance company E-Marine provide a $12.5 million bank guarantee to ensure it would not carry out repairs on the AAE-1 cable, when the company was working to fix the other two and the dispute resolved.
The ministry initially approved the the condition but Yemen’s cabinet decided against stating it wasn’t necessary, a senior official from the government told the news agency.
