Sea floor data cables Risks to seafloor cable

Sea floor data cables Risks to seafloor cable data networks, including those from tsunamis and undersea landslides. International Conventions (management) to protect sea floor data cables

Threats to sea floor data cables. Three Types of subsea cable damage • Shunt fault - this type of damage breaks the insulation and allows electrical power for repeaters to shunt to sea water. Shunt faults may leave fibres intact. • Fibre fault – this is a technical fault with the fibre itself and can disrupt communications. • Complete break - where electrical and fibre optic cables are completely severed or cut.

Causes of subsea cable damage Fishing activity from trawlers - Over a 3 rd of all cable damage is caused by fishing activity. Trawling and fixed nets including stow nets cause damage. The East Asian region has high cable fault rates as stow nets are used intensively in the East China Sea. Pair trawling uses a net towed between two vessels which can snag cables resting on the seabed causing damage. Damage from anchors - 25% of subsea cable damage arises from ship anchors. Large anchors of fishing vessels and merchant vessels cause cable damage. Recent fault records show that merchant ships sometimes do not fasten their anchors securely during short passages and these can cause cable damage.

Causes of subsea cable damage Natural disasters and undersea landslides - 8% of damage is caused by the environment but can impact multiple cables. Most faults caused by seabed movement occur in deep water. These include tectonic hazards like undersea earthquakes, tsunamis and cyclones. Current abrasion - Around 6% of cables are damaged through the current scraping cables against rocky surfaces. Shark bites - Cable damage from shark attacks is exceedingly rare and often considered a myth. While it’s true that in the past sharks have bitten a few cables, they are not a major threat.

Causes of subsea cable damage Intentional cable cut - In March 2013 naval forces arrested three men alleged to have attempted to cut an undersea cable off the coast of Alexandria. The head of Egypt Telecom said the incident caused a 60 percent drop in internet speeds. Mistaken cable cut - In 2011 an entire country lost internet for five hours after a 75 year old woman sliced through a fibre-optic cable with her spade while scavenging for copper. Other causes - Equipment failure is less common.

Management: Conventions to protect cables Convention on the Protection of Submarine Cables, 1884. The treaty applies to all those cables which are outside the territorial waters of states and requires nations to incorporate the treaty provisions into domestic law. Article 2 states that “the breaking or injury of a submarine cables, done wilfully or through culpable negligence…shall be a punishable offense. ” An important point to note is that Article 15 lays down that its provisions that makes the Convention inapplicable during wartime.

Management: Conventions to protect cables Marine law. High Seas Convention and the Convention on the Continental Shelf -1958 Geneva Conference. Article 27 of the High Seas Convention addresses damage to cables, but fails to clearly prohibit the intentional damage to them.

Conventions to protect cables The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) – 1982 Superseded the Conventions signed in Geneva. The UNCLOS is a landmark treaty and addresses undersea cables in different chapters. Articles 113 -115 replicate the 1958 Geneva Conventions. Article 79 allows states the freedom to lay cables on the continental shelf.

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