Recently there have been breaks in submarine cables both in Canada and in Europe. Conspiracy theories abound that the breaks are caused by malicious activity guided by Russia, but one thing is true - there is a Canadian link - odd though it might be.
Canadian Breaks
Disruptions due to cable breaks are more than just an inconvenience to 'phone users. These vital communication links can be critical for businesses and utilities as they transmit vast quantities of data and join networks that contain operating technologies that everyone uses.
Because the cables sit on the sea bottom or in trenches below the sea bottom, breaks are rarely caused by natural events such as storms. Earthquakes can sever cables but that would be a very rare event and could be traced by seismic records. The breaks are more often caused by fishing activity or dragging anchors, and they are usually accidental or the result of negligence.
On February 1 the Halifax-based cable ship IT Intrepid sailed to the Sydney, Nova Scotia area to repair breaks in two fibreoptic communications cables crossing the Cabot Strait between Cape Breton Island and the island of Newfoundland.
IT Intrepid in Halifax, January 4, 2025.
As reported here on January 15, 2025, IT International Telecom applied for a coasting license to use the Barbados registered IT Intrepid to make the repairs. It was not clear to me in the application if in fact the cables would be repaired by splicing in new sections or if an entirely new cable would be laid and covered in a new trench.
No cause has been given officially for the cable breaks, which in both cases were redundant cable - with a 100% back-up cable elsewhere. That may be why both breaks were not discovered immediately, but it does seem a little odd that there is no system alerting in the case of a break.
It also seems odd that both cables should be severed at about the same time, and in an area where there is very little bottom trawling type fishing activity. However I did note a ship in the area at the time reporting reporting that it was "not under commend." It is conceivable that it was attempting to anchor and dragged its anchor through the cables. It must take considerable force to break a cable and one would think it would be noticeable even on a ship in emergency conditions. [That the particular ship's operators have a Russian connection is at least worthy of note.]
Baltic Breaks
Another incident that severed a cable between Sweden and Latvia on January 26 has been declared a case of "defective equipment and seamanship" by the Swedish government, and not the result of state interference. The Latvian State Radio + Television (LVRTC) cable appears to bave been cut by the Navigation Maritime Bulgare ship Vezhen. The ship, which was en route from Ust Luga, Russia to Skagen, Denmark, was detained in Karlskrona but has now been cleared to sail. Photos show one fluke missing from the ship's port anchor.
The ship is a regular caller in Canadian waters and was built in 2022 to trade into the Great Lakes. The 20,848 gt, 32,196 dwt (21,158 dwt on the Great Lakes) bulk carrier came from the Jiangsu Newyangzi Shipbuilding yard in Jingjiang. It is equipped with three 35 tonne capacity cranes and 20 tonne grabs.
In November 2024 the ship sailed from Imbituba, Brazil with a cargo of petcoke for Port Alfred, QC. It unloaded there from December 9 to 12 then headed to Montreal December 16 -19, Hamilton, ON, December 20-22, Côte Ste-Catherine, QC December 24-25 and set out from Montreal December 25 for Greenore, Eire. It offloaded there January 7-10 and arrived in Ust Luga January 22. (I suspect the ship was carrying corn or other grain from Hamilton.)
Oddly (and here's where the conspiracy theorists can have a field day), the ship passed through the Cabot Strait twice in late December at about the time of the (Canadian) cable breaks. The close ties between Russia and Bulgaria (they both use the Cyrillic alphabet) only add to the conspiracy theories.
Shipfax does not believe in conspiracy theories normally, but there is so much wierd stuff going on these days that even the most outlandish can seem to be in the realm of possibility.
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