Firm: Ship's anchor cut Mideast Internet cable

CNN ^ | February 8, 2008 | Unknown

[milford421]

I heard 4 (5?). Did this roque ship anchor take them out too or was it all a bizarre coincidence?

[RDTF]

what about the other 4??

[AU72]

No news here, please move along, don’t get bothered by this.

[Resolute Conservative]

I heard that they were tired of endless Brittney updates.

[decimon]

I heard 4 (5?). Did this roque ship anchor take them out too or was it all a bizarre coincidence?

Apparently there were four reported broken with the fourth actually being a power outage ashore. If so then this article leaves two cable problems undetermined.

[PetroniusMaximus]

Magic Anchor theory.

[Secret Agent Man]

..laughed Beckert.

Ha ha, nothing to see here. Ho Ho, my God this is so frickin funny! There’s nothing going on that 4-5 cables got cut about the same time. Ha Ha, Al Qaida can’t swim.

Nobody really thought it was Al Qaida you laughing moron. It’s either Russia, China, India, us or Israel. Or maybe a couple acting together.

[rightinthemiddle]

ping

It wasn’t a big lobster.

[decimon]

The six-ton anchor just bounced 4 times, over a week’s span and cut 4 cables.

Four cut cables? Doesn't seem so.

At any rate, that anchor bounces quite a bit:

"Scores of cut undersea cables are reported each year, Beckert said, acknowledging that three cables leading into the volatile Middle East would attract more attention."

[milford421]

“Magic Anchor theory.”
ha!

[decimon]

There’s nothing going on that 4-5 cables got cut about the same time.

Where did you read that?

[WorkerbeeCitizen]

hmmm - nice shot maybe?

[neodad]

FLAG Telecom's FALCON cable spanning Dubai and Oman was snapped February 1 by an abandoned six-ton ship anchor

Ok. I call BS. What most people don't realize is that the anchor usually does not dig into the bottom to hold a ship in place. What holds the ship in place is the weight of the anchor and the anchor chain piled on the bottom. "Dragging anchor" is something that happens during storms and is a bad thing.

[decimon]

"Dragging anchor" is something that happens during storms and is a bad thing.

An abandoned anchor would be not attached to a ship and so not dragged, no?

[Martin Tell]

Friend of mine worked on the Flag installation. He told me the fact that the anchor was found abandoned meant it did not cut the cable. It would have to be still attached to the ship to sever a cable.

I think I see the logic of his point, but perhaps it could have partially severed the cable before the anchor line snapped.

His opinion is that it was not an anchor break, but was done deliberately to isolate the Middle East - maybe a test run for more breaks.

[Ken522]

Now I heard from some really really reliable sources whose identity I cannot disclose that certain really quiet sneaky submarines were sent by the Great Satan to cut the cables and disrupt internet connections in India and Saudi Arabia in retaliation for the high price of oil ... yeah, that's the ticket!

[Sax]