Undersea earthquake cuts Med cables: official

According to France Telecom, SEA ME WE 3, SEA ME WE 4, and Reliance’s Flag were cut on the 19th of December under the Mediterranean between Sicily and Tunisia, on sections connecting Sicily to Egypt.

Another cut was recorded later on the Reliance’s Go-1 cable connecting Sicily and Malta.

France Telecom told the IDG news service that the likely cause of the cuts is an underwater landslide caused by seismic activity in the area.

While the original cuts on SEA ME WE 4, Flag and Go-1 have been repaired over the period by both FranceTelecom and Reliance, the latest incident involving a second cut on the SEA ME WE 4 system is expected to be completed sometime this week, after which the cable ship will move to repair the damage on SEA ME WE 3, reports said.