'Ireland needs fresh strategy to protect its extensive maritime area'
Ireland needs to have proper strategies and capabilities in place to protect its maritime area because of its sheer size — seven times its landmass — and the growing commercial activity in it, according to a report.
It said government officials in affected countries such as Ireland 'need to understand the potential cascading effects' of ruptures to subsea cables on their critical national infrastructure.
Roles and responsibilities across defence, law enforcement, diplomacy, and industry need to be clarified in responding to events, it added.
It pointed out that there was still a 'big disconnect' between what national policies say and the ability of a country's agencies to respond if a cable, or cables, are damaged — whether accidentally or deliberately.
The report highlights the potential benefits of modern sensors to show what is happening near seafloor infrastructures and to detect damage to cables— although it said these technologies raise legal and regulatory issues.
The report is based on the presentations and views of a wide range of experts at a conference held at Valentia Island Transatlantic Cable Station in Co Kerry.
The symposium, entitled 'Subsea Cable Security and Resilience', attracted notable Irish and international speakers from industry, academia, and Government.
The report said that a 'greater number' of activities are now taking place in the oceans, including subsea cable operations; fishing, deep seabed mining; and oil, gas, and offshore wind infrastructure.
A map provided by Infomar showing the large scale of the country's maritime area. Ireland's national seabed mapping programme, Infomar is run jointly by Geological Survey Ireland and the Marine Institute. Picture: Infomar
The report said: 'For countries like Ireland that have a maritime domain seven times its landmass and with a lot of diverse activity on and in its waters, having the right strategies, capabilities, and domain awareness is key, as is participating in strategically important projects relevant to CUI [critical underwater infrastructure] protection within the EU and, where applicable, through its Individually Tailored Partnership Programme with Nato.'
It said that around 80% of subsea cable breakages result from fishing and anchoring. However, it did point out that the use of commercial vessels — such as trawlers — to deliberately cut cables or other infrastructure by dropping their anchors, could by used by malicious states.
It said that any such behaviour is 'very difficult' to attribute to such states.
Ireland's maritime area is seven times the size of its landmass. File picture: Denis Minihane
The report said: 'State-backed sabotage and espionage at sea, at cable landing stations, or at terrestrial points of presence have remained persistent threats, even if technological developments are making some of these activities more difficult. It is also possible for malicious state or non-state actors to target the subsea cable network without fully understanding the fallout from their actions.
Government officials need to understand the potential cascading effects — whether significant or not — of downed cables on their national infrastructure.
The report said it was 'important to clarify the roles and responsibilities' across defence, law enforcement, diplomacy, and industry in terms of national preparedness.
'Regardless of developments under way, there is still a big disconnect between state national policy aims and direction, and the ability to respond with the right capabilities,' the report stated.
It said that advances in sensing technologies — many of which use the fibres in the fibre optic cables — can be used for environmental monitoring, disaster early warning and 'situational awareness' (a military term for knowing what it going on in an area).
The report said situational awareness would be a combination of these sensory technologies with other monitoring tools, such as AIS (automatic tracking system for vessels), radar, satellite, and submersibles, which together could provide a 'relatively reliable picture of what is happening under the ocean and close to critical infrastructure'.
It said that industry needed a regulatory framework that was predictable and streamlined.
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