Reuters | February 24, 2025

• Swedish and Finnish police investigating a suspected case of sabotage of a subsea cable in the Baltic Sea say that damage may have occurred as early as January 26.

• The time closely coincides with that of an outage of a nearby subsea fibre optic cable linking Sweden and Latvia, which was reported at the time.

• A Swedish prosecutor said on February 3 he had concluded that a Maltese-flagged bulk carrier, the Vezhen, had ruptured the cable linking Sweden and Latvia with its anchor, but that it had been an accident and not sabotage.

Reuters | February 21, 2025

• A statement from Finland's National Bureau of Investigation said the cable damage was identified on Wednesday and that a preliminary investigation was launched the following day.

• Friday's incident marks the third time in recent months that Cinia's C-Lion1 cable has been damaged, after it was completely severed in November and December last year.

• The Baltic Sea region is on alert and the NATO alliance has boosted its presence after a series of power cable, telecom and gas pipeline outages since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.

• Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said the government was being briefed and that damage to any undersea infrastructure was particularly concerning amid the current security situation.

The Guardian | February 26, 2025

• The Nigerian Federal Government is leading a conversation to ensure the protection of the submarine cables and prevent incessant submarine cable cuts and damages in the deep sea. 

• At the Submarine Cable Resilience Summit, which begins today in Abuja, members of the International Advisory Body for Submarine Cable Resilience have converged to build consensus on how to protect the submarine cables, improve resilience.

• 90 per cent of Nigeria’s internet traffic is based on sub-sea cables, so as the country continues to push for a stronger digital economy, it must ensure the resilience of that infrastructure.

• Their Federal Government is investing $2 billion in 90,000 kilometres of submarine cable network across the country to ensure connectivity and avoid events like the cuts that happened in West Africa in March last year 

• These cuts affected 13 countries in West Africa, because the four submarine cables were cut off the coast by underwater earthquakes.

Reuters | February 25, 2025

• Taiwan's coast guard said it detained a China-linked cargo ship on Tuesday after a nearby undersea cable was disconnected.

• China's Taiwan Affairs Office reports that damage to undersea cables is a "common maritime accident" which occurs more than a hundred times a year globally.

• Taiwan, whose government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims, has pointed the finger at Chinese ships that carry "flags of convenience" of other countries and notes similarities to damage of undersea cables in the Baltic Sea following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

• Taiwan has also complained about repeated patrols by China's coast guard in restricted waters around the Kinmen islands, now seen as “routine harassment." 

Telecom Review | February 17, 2025

• In the past eight years, no new submarine cables have been operationalized in the Asia Pacific. This has led to a shortage of resources and created challenges in the market.

• The launch of the ADC’s capacity has been eagerly anticipated by the industry. This milestone was achieved two months earlier than planned, following the completion of the ADC wet segment last November.

• This has helped to ease the strain on submarine cable resources.

• The availability of capacity will support the growth of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and big data

The Defense Post | February 18, 2025

• The UN says fishing trawlers are causing the most damage to subsea cables by far, rather than spies, following several high-profile incidents of sabotage to subsea communications in the Baltic Sea in recent months.

• About 1.4 million kilometers of fiberoptic cables are laid on the ocean floor, enabling trade, financial transactions, public services, digital health, and education around the world.

• The laying and operation of underwater cables was long the preserve of a consortium of large telecoms operators, but the internet giants have largely taken over in recent years.

• According to the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), damage to subsea cables is not uncommon, with an average of 150 to 200 outages per year worldwide, or around three incidents a week.

• Given the growing importance of such cables, “every incident and every cut of the cable is much more noticeable,” In a bid to increase cable resilience, the UN is pushing for the international community to increase cooperation in this highly sensitive sector.

• The ITU and ICPC have set up a group of specialists tasked with developing solutions, who will meet for the first time from February 26 to 27 in Nigeria.

Data Center Dynamics | February 17, 2025

• The Arctic Way subsea cable system which includes 2,350km cable will be located within the Arctic Circle and is expected to commence service in 2028.

• There are currently two existing subsea cables to Svalbard which will not yet be retired and will serve as a backup for the incoming cable.

• This comes shortly after GlobalConnect joined the Polar Connect consortium earlier this year to build a subsea Internet cable connecting the North Pole to Europe and Asia.

• In the Southern Hemisphere, Chile’s Undersecretariat of Telecommunications is planning to build a subsea cable between Antarctica and Chile.

Power Technology | February 14, 2025

• Iberdrola has announced the start of construction on the Eastern Green Link 1 subsea electricity superhighway project between Scotland and England.

• Onshore construction has just begun on the 190km subsea cable, with offshore construction expected to begin in the summer of 2025.

• The cable connects the southeast of Scotland with the northeast of England and will transport green electricity sufficient for two million homes.

• Specialist vessels will lay the cable across the seabed and bury it along the route before integrating it into the grid.

• Ofgem has approved an £8m fund to support the communities where the infrastructure meets land, delivering social, environmental and economic benefits.

MI News Network | February 4, 2025

• Swedish prosecutors confirmed on Monday that the cargo ship Vezhen accidentally damaged a subsea cable connecting Sweden and Latvia on January 26.

• The Maltese-flagged vessel was released after the investigation concluded that the damage was not intentional.

• In the wake of many suspected sabotage events involving subsea cables, it was determined that this damage was a result of a series of unfortunate factors, not deliberate action.

• The company explained that the ship was sailing in extremely bad weather, and the left anchor had dragged along the seabed without the crew noticing. 

• “An investigation is continuing to find out whether other crimes may have been responsible for the cable break,” the prosecutor’s statement said.

MI News Network | February 3, 2025

• Norwegian authorities have released the Silver Dania, a Norwegian-owned, Russian crewed ship initially suspected of damaging an underwater fibre optic cable connecting Latvia and Sweden’s Gotland island.

• The Silver Dania was detained on January 31, 2025, at the request of Latvian authorities. After a thorough investigation, no evidence was found linking the vessel to the incident.

• Following a series of incidents involving the damage of subsea cables and natural gas pipelines, NATO has launched a mission named “Baltic Sentry,” to safeguard critical infrastructure in the Baltic Sea.

• The LVRTC stated that while gas pipelines and power cables can take months to repair, damaged fibre optic cables in the Baltic Sea are typically restored within weeks.

The Guardian | February 18, 2025

• Project Waterworth involves a 50,000km (31,000-mile) subsea cable, and aims to connect the US, India, South Africa, Brazil and other regions.

• More than 95% of the world’s internet traffic is transferred through undersea cables, so this project will enable greater economic cooperation, facilitate digital inclusion, and open opportunities for technological development in these regions.

• In July, large parts of Tonga were left in darkness after the undersea internet cable connecting the island network was damaged, causing chaos for local businesses.

• The project includes plans to lay its cable system up to 7,000 metres deep and “use enhanced burial techniques in high-risk fault areas, such as shallow waters near the coast, to avoid damage from ship anchors and other hazards”.

Capacity Media | February 4, 2025

• The UK Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has urged European leaders to enhance cooperation on subsea cable security following multiple incidents of cable damage.

• The call for collaboration comes after a Russian spy ship was spotted near UK waters, with the Defence Secretary telling Parliament it was mapping critical underwater infrastructure.

• Despite the latest incident found to have been an accident, European nations continue looking into ways to improve subsea resilience and deterrence.

• Starmer’s call to action comes as he pushes for a “reset” in relations with the EU, some five years after the UK left the single market.

Data Center Dynamics | February 3, 2025

• The 12,000km cable is expected to be ready for service in Q1 2027.

• It will have a relatively low capacity of around 12.8Tbps per fiber pair.

• Meta will likely sell capacity on the system to third parties, allowing each fiber pair owner to operate and control its own fronthaul system.

• ORCA - will have three landing points in Toucheng, Taiwan; and Hermosa Beach and Manchester in California, US.

Data Center Dynamics | January 20, 2025

• Digital infrastructure investment firm D9 has sold its interest in a fiber pair of the upcoming 2Africa Pearls subsea cable.

• The project continues to be impacted by ongoing conflicts in the Red Sea area, which have led to an indefinite delay to its final construction completion

• However, D9 announced in February of last year that it had decided to wind down its operations and sell off its assets following a strategic review.

Ocean News | January 20, 2025

• OEC is Europe’s first and only cable recovery and recycling company.

• Under the agreement, OEC will acquire from Sparkle over 22,000 km of telegraph, coaxial, and fiber optic subsea cables laid in the Mediterranean.

• This has the potential to save more than 35,000 tons of CO2e through secondary material manufacturing reuse.

• OEC will then return the materials with renewed value to industrial use as secondary raw materials.

Data Center Dynamics | January 20, 2025

• Subsea cable damage in the Baltic Sea in recent months was likely the result of maritime accidents, not Russian sabotage.

• Officials report that anchors were dragged across the seabed accidentally because of inexperienced crews aboard poorly maintained vessels.

• Officials spoke on a condition of anonymity, making it unclear which officials participated in the investigations.

• Various cuts to cables out of Finland in recent months prompted a response from NATO, which launched a new military program to strengthen subsea infrastructure in the region earlier this month.

Submarine Telecom Forums | January 16, 2025

• MOX Networks, LLC (“MOX”) is a leading fiber-optic network specialist. It builds the capacity to deliver on the infinite possibilities for new paths, connections, and performance.

• The MOX network spans over 16,000km with submarine and terrestrial fiber, including access to the latest next-generation subsea system, Topaz.

• The network has since expanded through organic buildouts, acquisitions, and partnerships, creating a vast fiber-optic network portfolio spanning North America and connecting to Japan.

Data Center Dynamics | January 22, 2025

• The government said that subsea cables to the Matsu Islands, which lie close to the coast of China, were disconnected due to "natural deterioration."

• According to Deputy Digital Minister Chiueh no "suspicious" ships were detected when the cables went offline.

• Earlier this month, four fibers of a Chunghwa Telecom-operated subsea cable were damaged off the coast at Yehliu, New Taipei City, on January 3, 2025.

Profit | January 16th, 2025

The arrival of the world’s largest submarine cable in Pakistan is expected to alleviate persistent internet connectivity issues