Hong Kong’s HGC Global Communications has confirmed that four cables had suffered substantial damage in the Red Sea. The company estimated that the disruption has impacted approximately 25% of data traffic between Asia and Europe.
Four major submarine cables – Seacom, TGN, AAE-1, and EIG – have been severed. Collectively the cables handle around 80% of the west-bound traffic from Asia, which accounts for 15% of Asia’s total data traffic, the company said.
While Yemen’s internationally recognized government had warned that the Houthis could sabotage, the Houthis have denied that they would do such a thing. They in turn have blamed the west for a “black op”. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that the growing consensus was that the damage was caused by an anchor dragging, probably underneath the Rubymar, which drifted after being abandoned by its crew, before it eventually sank.
HGC said that it had implemented a plan to reroute the affected traffic. The contingency plan involves rerouting north-bound traffic through mainland China to Europe, east-bound traffic through the United States to Europe, and diversifying west-bound traffic within the remaining 11 submarine cable systems in the Red Sea.
HGC is also extending support to other affected businesses. The company has been approached by carriers from the Middle East and North Africa region for contingency rerouting options from Hong Kong networks to the West.
