Sep 08, 2025 11:13:00

Microsoft says Red Sea submarine cable cut could affect Azure

A submarine cable in

the Red Sea , a gulf between northeastern Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, has been severed, disrupting internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East. The cause of the cable disruption is unclear, but Microsoft, which provides internet services, has announced that it may experience some latency and other impacts on its Azure cloud computing service.

Microsoft Says Azure Service Affected by Damaged Red Sea Cables - Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-09-06/microsoft-says-azure-service-affected-by-damaged-red-sea-cables

Red Sea cables are cut, disrupting internet in Asia and the Mideast | AP News
https://apnews.com/article/red-sea-undersea-cables-cut-internet-disruption-yemen-b79fe7b9764647ac0851b9390a313e70

Microsoft says Azure affected after cables cut in the Red Sea | TechCrunch
https://techcrunch.com/2025/09/07/microsoft-says-azure-affected-after-cables-cut-in-the-red-sea/

Regarding the reason for the cut in the Red Sea submarine cable, the Associated Press reported, 'There are growing concerns that the cable may have been cut as a result of operations in the Red Sea by Yemen's Houthi rebels. The Houthis explained that the Red Sea operations were 'an attempt to pressure Israel to end its war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.'

Following the disruption of multiple submarine cables in the Red Sea, Microsoft updated its Azure status page on Saturday, September 6, 2025 (local time) to notify customers of potential impacts, including delays. According to Microsoft, network traffic will not be interrupted as the company is redirecting traffic to alternative network paths, but some traffic that previously traveled through the Middle East may experience increased latency. Microsoft also explained, 'Submarine fiber optic cuts can take time to repair, and in the meantime, we are continuously monitoring, rebalancing, and optimizing routing to mitigate any impact to our customers.'

Azure Status
https://azure.status.microsoft/ja-jp/status

Azure is not alone in being affected by the Red Sea submarine cable cut. NetBlocks, a cybersecurity and internet governance monitor, reported that 'a series of submarine cable failures in the Red Sea have degraded internet connectivity in several countries, including India and Pakistan.' According to NetBlocks , the affected submarine cables are SEA-ME-WE 4 and I-ME-WE, both located near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

SEA-ME-WE 4 is operated by a company under the Indian conglomerate Tata Communications, while I-ME-WE is operated by a separate consortium overseen by Alcatel Submarine Networks, one of the world's top three submarine cable manufacturers and installers. The companies that operate both cables did not respond to AP requests for comment at the time of writing.

Kuwaiti authorities announced thatthe FALCON submarine cable across the Red Sea had been cut, causing disruption in the country. GCX, which operates FALCON, did not respond to requests for comment.

In the United Arab Emirates, customers on state-owned Du and Etisalat networks have complained of slow internet speeds, but the government has denied there is an internet outage in the country.

The Iranian-backed Houthis are also suspected of cutting undersea cables in the Red Sea in early 2024, and Yemen's government in exile has claimed that the Houthis cut the cables, but the Houthis have denied doing so.