Two ships have been impounded in Dubai after satellite images indicated that they may have been responsible for the damage to undersea cables which left large parts of the Middle East without proper internet access. Reliance Globalcom, which owns the cables, used satellite photos to identify the MV Hounslow and MV Ann as being the most likely culprits and stopped the ships in Dubai.
One of the ships has now been released after the Korean owners agreed to pay compensation. But two sailors on the second Iraqi-owned ship may now face trial. "The matter has been brought to the notice of appropriate authorities which are taking necessary action," a Reliance Globalcom official told The Hindu.
The loss of the cables caused internet access in some countries to slow by as much as 80 per cent, and harmed performance at call centres in Egypt to the extent that the state telecoms company asked ordinary users to stay offline.
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