Damage to submarine cables in Red Sea disrupting telecommunications networks

Damage to submarine cables in the Red Sea is disrupting telecommunications networks and forcing providers to reroute as much as a quarter of traffic between Asia, Europe and the Middle East, including internet traffic.

Cables belonging to four major telecoms networks have been “cut” causing “significant” disruption to communications networks in the Middle East, CNN reports citing Hong Kong telecoms company HGC Global Communications.

HGC estimates that 25 per cent of traffic between Asia and Europe, as well as the Middle East has been impacted, the message says.

The company said it is rerouting traffic to minimise disruption for customers and also “extending assistance to affected businesses.”

The destruction of cables in the Red Sea comes weeks after the official Yemeni government warned of the possibility that Houthi rebels would target the cables. The Iranian-backed militants have already disrupted global supply chains by attacking commercial vessels in the crucial waterway.