Submarine cable system 2Africa: work in Persian Gulf stopped due to Iran war
The world's largest submarine cable system is intended to connect Africa with Asia. The final work in the Persian Gulf has now had to be stopped.
Laying ship for 2Africa
(Image: 2Africa)
The war in the Middle East is now also having consequences for work on important submarine cables; part of the world's largest submarine cable system cannot currently be expanded. Bloomberg reports, citing the company responsible for laying the cable for 2Africa off the north coast of the Arabian Peninsula. Its cable-laying ship Ile De Batz is currently docked in a Saudi Arabian port and cannot complete its work. The operators of 2Africa have been sent a notice of force majeure. US company Meta is also among them. According to Bloomberg, the submarine cable is largely in the Persian Gulf, but it has not yet been connected to all landing points.
Not the first delay due to a conflict
(Image:Â 2Africa)
The approximately 45.000-kilometer-long 2Africa primarily connects numerous African states and Europe, with the submarine cable encircling the continent once. The branch, the completion of which is now delayed, runs through the Arabian Sea into the Persian Gulf and connects India, Pakistan, and the Gulf states to the cable system. Just a few months ago, work on the section in the Red Sea was interrupted due to repeated attacks by the Yemeni Houthi militia on ships. It is unclear when the gap will be closed and work on the connection to the Middle East will be completed, given the conflicts in the region.
The situation in the Persian Gulf has escalated after Israel and the USA began carrying out air strikes on Iran. Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, was killed right at the beginning. In return, Iran has attacked numerous states in the region and recently shipping has come into focus. The Islamic Republic has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, the connection between the Persian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. Several ships have been attacked there, which is why work on the submarine cable is now too dangerous. According to Bloomberg, work on other projects has also been halted, but none of them were as far advanced as 2Africa.
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2Africa was supposed to offer more than the total capacity of all underwater cables that supplied Africa at the time, it was stated upon landing in South Africa in early 2023. Even then, it was pointed out that the cable system would "provide much-needed internet capacity and reliability in large parts of the Middle East, India, Pakistan and Africa and support the growth of 4G, 5G and fixed broadband access for hundreds of millions of people." The project is also important as a connection between Africa and the rest of the world. The conflicts in the Middle East are now putting a spanner in the works for the time being.
(mho)
