Incidents with ship anchors damaging submarine cables made it to the news headlines since about 2024. The public, generally unaware about the hidden world of submarine cables, was astonished hearing that ships can unintentionally drop anchors and even drag them damaging undersea cables. How can that be possible? Sabotage?
Authorities’ awareness increased, and a few vessels were seized by Coast Guard and friends after cable incidents, and the crew was suspected of sabotage. However, no such allegiation could be proved. In February 2025, the Swedish Prosecution Authority concluded that not sabotage but weather conditions and deficiencies in equipment and seamanship contributed to a cable break in January 2025. The journal article ”Anchor damage to submarine power cables? How can that happen and what can be done to avoid?” explains how it can happen that vessel crews can drop and drag anchors unintendedly (Anchor damage to submarine power cables – How can that happen and what can be done to avoid?).
