A fault has been detected in the Cinia C-Lion1 submarine cable, which connects Finland and Germany, disrupting services early on Monday, November 18, 2024. The exact cause of the issue remains under investigation, but corrective measures have been initiated. A repair vessel is being prepared to address the fault, although the precise timeline for resolution is currently unclear. Typically, submarine cable repairs take between 5 to 15 days to complete.
Despite the disruption, Finland’s international telecommunications traffic is largely unaffected due to the availability of alternative routing options. The impact on end users will depend on the resilience of service providers’ network architectures. This incident underscores the importance of robust infrastructure to handle unexpected outages in critical digital connectivity pathways.
Key Details:
• Time of Incident: Around 4 a.m., Monday, November 18, 2024.
• Cable Affected: C-Lion1, spanning 1,173 km between Finland and Germany.
• Launched: 2016 to connect Central European telecom networks with Nordic countries.
• Current Status: Fault under investigation; repair vessel preparing for deployment.
• Repair Timeline: Expected to take between 5 and 15 days.
• Impact: Services relying on the cable are down, but alternate routes are mitigating the disruption.
The Foreign Ministers of Finland and Germany issued the following joint statement: “We are deeply concerned about the severed undersea cable connecting Finland and Germany in the Baltic Sea. The fact that such an incident immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage speaks volumes about the volatility of our times. “
Separately, a subsea cable from Sweden to Lithuania was also reported to be damaged or cut, impacting Telia’s regional network.
