News Taiwanese authorities detain fishy Chinese freighter suspected of cutting undersea Internet cable

[Admin]

An undersea internet cable running between Taiwan's main island and the offshore Penghu Islands was severed earlier today, under suspicious circumstances.

Taiwanese authorities detain fishy Chinese freighter suspected of cutting undersea Internet cable : Read more

 

[bit_user]

IMO, they need some sort of active defense. Like some sort of submersible that can attach floats to an anchor that's being dragged, so that it lifts up off the seabed. Station a few of those near important infrastructure corridors and, when a ship starts navigating in a suspicious way, deploy that thing to check for an anchor drag and intervene.

It seems like you could also use areal drones to visually check whether ships have their anchors deployed. If they do, another option might be to fly out there in a helicopter and raid the bridge with a SWAT team.

 

[DougMcC]

IMO, they need some sort of active defense. Like some sort of submersible that can attach floats to an anchor that's being dragged, so that it lifts up off the seabed. Station a few of those near important infrastructure corridors and, when a ship starts navigating in a suspicious way, deploy that thing to check for an anchor drag and intervene.

It seems like you could also use areal drones to visually check whether ships have their anchors deployed. If they do, another option might be to fly out there in a helicopter and raid the bridge with a SWAT team.

If you can do all that, may as well just trench the cables so anchor dragging wont grab them.

 

[bit_user]

If you can do all that, may as well just trench the cables so anchor dragging wont grab them.

I think it's apples & oranges - one capability doesn't imply the other.

More importantly, they have to protect existing infrastructure, now. Redeploying it all in trenches sounds like an expensive and long-term project that does nothing to help them in the short or medium term.

 

[DougMcC]

I think it's apples & oranges - one capability doesn't imply the other.

More importantly, they have to protect existing infrastructure, now. Redeploying it all in trenches sounds like an expensive and long-term project that does nothing to help them in the short or medium term.

IMO if you have a submersible that can catch an anchor, you can build a submersible that can trench an existing cable.

 

[Kridian]

"Drop your anchor or your family..."

You know it's going down like that.

 

[derekullo]

Probably one of the most if not the most monitored waterway on the planet.
Very ballzy !

 

[bit_user]

IMO if you have a submersible that can catch an anchor,

That's not what I said. I said it could attach floats to an anchor. And you only need enough buoyancy to lift it off the sea bed - not all the way to the surface. At those depths, inflating some air bags might do the trick.

I'm not saying it'd be easy, given that it has to do that while the ship is moving. It was just a sort of off-the-wall idea.

 

[DS426]

Microwave backup? Those poor birds... lol.

Fiber internet cable cutting is really starting to make the news now. Guess that's good.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

That's not what I said. I said it could attach floats to an anchor. And you only need enough buoyancy to lift it off the sea bed - not all the way to the surface. At those depths, inflating some air bags might do the trick. Keep in mind that pressure increases/decreases at a rate of 44psi per 100 ft depth change for the first 1000 feet or so from the surface.

Not even close. The pressures involved at depth make any such endevour ludicrous as gas bags would rupture (more like explode) in only a few hundred feet or so as the gas expands at decreased depth and pressure.

I'm not saying it'd be easy, given that it has to do that while the ship is moving. It was just a sort of off-the-wall idea.

Off the wall and in the trash bin is where it belongs.

 

[bit_user]

Not even close. The pressures involved at depth make any such endevour ludicrous as gas bags would rupture (more like explode) in only a few hundred feet or so as the gas expands at decreased depth and pressure.

BTW, do you know how long these ship anchor chains usually are? I'm just curious what sorts of depths we might be talking about, here.

Off the wall and in the trash bin is where it belongs.

Thanks for the fact-check. I appreciate you sharing your expertise.

 

[ex_bubblehead]

For the first 1000 ft or so pressure changes at the rate of 44psi per 100 ft change in depth. After that it just gets a whole lot higher. Air bags of any kind at those depths are virtually useless unless you are talking about supporting only a few pounds (couple of kilos) or so. Ships anchors weigh many tons, in addition to the chains that can weigh up to a ton per link.

Now those calling for the burying of the cables fail to take into account that they are simply laid on the bottom in order to facilitate locating them and raising them to the suface for inspection and/or repair as necessary. Trenching the bottom of the ocean is an exercise in frustration as the trench fills in almost the instant it's dug (the bottom is an extremely fine mud)

 

[ex_bubblehead]

BTW, do you know how long these ship anchor chains usually are? I'm just curious what sorts of depths we might be talking about, here.

Figure anywhere from ~200-800 meters or so for a typical tanker and proportionately shorter for smaller ships.

Thanks for the fact-check. I appreciate you sharing your expertise.

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