The Great Data Detour: Subsea Cables Under Fire

Simultaneous closures in the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz force a structural rethink of global data corridors and terrestrial alternatives

16 Mar 2026

The global telecommunications industry is facing an unprecedented logistical crisis following the simultaneous closure of two primary maritime data corridors. Military strikes involving the US, Israel, and Iran in late February have rendered the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz inaccessible for critical maintenance and new cable deployment, marking the first dual-corridor shutdown in the history of the internet.

The Red Sea serves as the transit point for 17 submarine cables that facilitate the majority of data traffic between Europe, Asia, and Africa. Recent hostilities have compounded existing vulnerabilities caused by regional instability. On March 3, the situation escalated when Iran’s Revolutionary Guard declared the Strait of Hormuz closed to commercial vessels, effectively halting maritime operations in a second vital chokepoint.

The impact on digital infrastructure has been immediate. Following retaliatory attacks on March 1, an Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center in the UAE suffered a partial shutdown due to fire, leading to cloud outages across the UAE and Bahrain. Because repair vessels cannot safely enter these contested waters, damaged subsea infrastructure remains offline without a clear timeline for restoration.

Operational challenges are being exacerbated by broader macroeconomic shifts. Oil prices rose sharply following the initial strikes, while European natural gas costs nearly doubled within 48 hours. These energy fluctuations directly affect data center operators, who are already grappling with high power costs. Consequently, several large-scale infrastructure investment projects in the UAE are currently under review.

Carl Grivner, chief executive at FLAG, noted prior to the escalation that cable route planning was increasingly "driven by the location of compute infrastructure and data centers rather than traditional telecoms demand." However, with significant assets now located within a conflict zone, the industry is pivoting toward overland alternatives.

Gulf states are accelerating fiber projects through Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey to bypass the Red Sea. While diverting traffic around Africa offers a temporary solution, it significantly increases latency. The current crisis has transformed the diversification of terrestrial routes from a long-term strategic goal into an immediate operational necessity, as regulators and providers seek to mitigate the systemic risk of geographic chokepoints.