Cap'n Bubba the marine backhoe driver - SEA-ME-WE 3 and 4, FLAG cut

Joel Esler eslerj at gmail.com
Fri Dec 19 17:32:13 UTC 2008


I just posted an article about this on the Internet Storm Center, I  
have reports pouring in there as well.

Joel

(http://isc.sans.org)

On Dec 19, 2008, at 12:17 PM, Suresh Ramasubramanian allegedly wrote:

>> If you can't read this email, please go to :http://www.orange.com/en_EN/press/press_releases/cp081219en.html
>> Paris, December 19, 2008
>> Three undersea cables cut: traffic greatly disturbed between Europe  
>> and
>> Asia/Near East zone
>>
>> 3 cables cut this morning (Sea Me We3 partly + Sea Me We4 + FLAG)
>> France Telecom Marine cable ship about to depart
>>
>> France Telecom observed today that 3 major underwater cables were  
>> cut:
>> ?Sea Me We 4? at 7:28am, ?Sea Me We3? at 7:33am and FLAG at 8:06am.
>> The causes of the cut, which is located in the Mediterranean between
>> Sicily and Tunisia, on sections linking Sicily to Egypt, remain
>> unclear.
>>
>> Most of the B to B traffic between Europe and Asia is rerouted  
>> through
>> the USA.
>> Traffic from Europe to Algeria and Tunisia is not affected, but  
>> traffic
>> from Europe to the Near East and Asia is interrupted to a greater or
>> lesser extent (see country list below).
>> Part of the internet traffic towards R?union is affected as well as  
>> 50%
>> towards Jordan.
>> A first appraisal at 7:44 am UTC gave an estimate of the following
>> impact on the voice traffic (in percentage of out of service  
>> capacity):
>> -    Saudi Arabia: 55% out of service
>> -    Djibouti: 71% out of service
>> -    Egypt: 52% out of service
>> -    United Arab Emirates: 68% out of service
>> -    India: 82% out of service
>> -    Lebanon: 16% out of service
>> -    Malaysia: 42% out of service
>> -    Maldives: 100% out of service
>> -    Pakistan: 51% out of service
>> -    Qatar: 73% out of service
>> -    Syria: 36% out of service
>> -    Taiwan: 39% out of service
>> -    Yemen: 38% out of service
>> -    Zambia: 62% out of service
>>
>> France Telecom immediately alerted one of the two maintenance boats
>> based in the Mediterranean area, the ?Raymond Croze?. This France
>> Telecom Marine cable ship based at Seyne-sur-Mer has received its
>> mobilization order early this afternoon and will cast off tonight at
>> 3:00 am with 20 kilometers spare cable on board. It should be on
>> location on Monday morning for a relief mission.
>> Priority will be given to the recovery of the Sea Me We4 cable,  
>> then on
>> the Sea Me We3.
>> By December 25th, Sea Me We4 could be operating. By December 31st,  
>> the
>> situation should be back to normal.


--
Joel Esler
  http://www.joelesler.net
[m]





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