Contribution by Avv. Enrico Vergani, partner, and Giulia Morelli, associate, leader and member of the
Focus Team Shipping, Transport & Logistics of BonelliErede
Submarine cables carry over 99% of the world’s data traffic and represent the primary strategic infrastructure for economic, commercial, and institutional continuity. The global network exceeds 1.3 million kilometers, with increasing investments from big tech operators, who largely own and manage them.
Italy is establishing itself as a significant hub not only for electrical cables – with projects like the Tyrrhenian Link – but also for digital technologies, thanks to industrial players like Prysmian and centers of excellence like WSense, active in underwater monitoring and IoT networks.
However, these infrastructures are exposed to multiple risks: traditionally, most damage results from accidental activities or natural events. In recent years, however, incidents interpreted by analysts as possible forms of sabotage have been added: the damage to the Balticconnector in 2023 and the cuts recorded in the Red Sea and the Baltic Sea between 2024 and 2025. Such events, in an extremely sensitive geopolitical context, led NATO to launch, in January 2025, the Baltic Sentry initiative dedicated to the protection of critical underwater infrastructures.
The institutional response is also maturing at the European level: in February 2025, the Commission issued the Joint Communication on Submarine Cable Security, which identifies four lines of action: prevention, more stringent security requirements and new investments in “intelligent” cables; detection, enhancing monitoring capabilities per maritime basin and early warning; response & recovery, the establishment of an “EU Cable Vessels Reserve Fleet” to reduce repair times; deterrence, through sanctions and diplomatic tools against hostile actors. 51 backbone connectivity projects have already been funded, with additional resources planned between 2025 and 2027 under the CEF Digital program and the Global Gateway, to support investments in intra-EU cables and alternative routes to the most exposed ones.
At the national level, bill no. 2521 establishes the Agency for Underwater Activity Security, tasked with defining protection measures for underwater infrastructures, including cables. The provision includes the preliminary mapping of sensitive areas, monitoring by the Navy, and the involvement of maritime and security authorities. One of the most significant innovations concerns the amendments to the Military Order Code: the Navy will in fact be able to order and execute the engagement, disabling, destruction, or seizure of vessels that threaten submarine cables of national interest, as well as order their diversion to Italian ports. These provisions follow the framework provided by UNCLOS, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which in articles 112-115 guarantees all States the right to lay submarine cables, together with obligations for protection and repair in case of damage.
The economic and managerial aspect remains central in any case: repair times are long and costs are very high, while insurance coverage is often limited to direct damage, leaving service interruption-related damages uncovered.
For this reason, operators have initiated their own mitigation measures: Prysmian has signed an agreement with the Dutch company N-Sea, equipping itself with a vessel entirely dedicated to inspection, monitoring, and repair; Fincantieri, in agreement with Sparkle, has developed a system for the protection and surveillance of submarine cables.
The trajectory is clear: States and private operators are converging on the necessity to protect the cables with rapid and coordinated responses. Digital resilience is now an essential value globally.
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Enrico Vergani
