Only about 20 of the 60 specialized vessels that keep the Internet running are dedicated repair ships.
The Hidden Backbone
The global cable network relies on roughly 60 ships that lay and maintain fiber‑optic lines, but fewer than 20 are built solely for repairs. Each year, 150‑200 faults occur, with 70‑80 % caused by fishing gear or anchors, according to the International Cable Protection Committee. The repair process is simple in theory—locate, splice, test, and lay—but in practice it demands a vessel to hold position for days, often near conflict zones.
A Fleet on the Brink
Investment in new cable construction has doubled to $4‑5 B annually, yet the maintenance fleet receives almost zero funding. TeleGeography’s study, co‑authored by Infra‑Analytics, shows that about half of all cable vessels—and nearly two‑thirds of repair ships—will reach the end of their service life by 2040. Many of the newer additions are secondhand conversions from oil‑and‑gas construction vessels, not purpose‑built cable ships.
By 2030, a quarter of the world’s cable kilometres are slated for retirement, while more than a million kilometres of new lines are planned for the southwest Pacific and Atlantic, including dozens near the Middle East. The busiest repair zones are not the ones in the headlines; Southeast Asia’s South China Sea, with its shallow waters and dense fishing traffic, sees the most incidents.
Geopolitical Risks on the Seafloor
Permitting delays compound the problem. Securing a government’s sign‑off to enter territorial waters can take a month or more, says Sheryl Ong of Global Marine. In 2024, a commercial vessel struck by Houthi militants sank in the Red Sea, severing multiple cables. Repairs were stalled for months while operators assessed safety and legality.
Iran’s threat to impose fees on cables beneath the Strait of Hormuz could force operators to reroute traffic, but the clustered cables also risk collateral damage to Iranian networks. Instead, the most vulnerable targets are on land: cable landing stations are exposed to drone attacks, a risk that undersea cables themselves do not face.
What Comes Next
The picture is stark: a maintenance fleet that is aging, under‑funded, and geographically constrained, all while geopolitical tensions rise. Without a coordinated investment strategy and clearer permitting frameworks, the global Internet could find itself stranded in a conflict zone. The next decade will test whether the industry can shore up its repair backbone before a single incident turns a handful of cables into a global bottleneck.
Source: Iran threats expose the aging fleet that repairs undersea Internet cables
Domain: scientificamerican.com
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