PORTSMOUTH, United Kingdom, and DURHAM, New Hampshire—Each year, the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) and the Rhodes Academy of Oceans Law and Policy (Rhodes Academy) sponsor the Rhodes Academy-ICPC Submarine Cables Writing Award for a deserving paper addressing submarine cables and their relationship with the law of the sea. Applicants to, and graduates of, the Rhodes Academy are eligible to compete for the award, in a competition administered by the Centre for International Law at the National University of Singapore. With the award, the ICPC and the Rhodes Academy seek to foster scholarship regarding submarine cables (the infrastructure of the Internet) and the law of the sea and promote the rule of law as applied to submarine cables. The referees of the 2026 competition chose Aryan Shresth of Australia as the winner for his paper, ‘Grey Waters: A Proposed Treaty Response to Grey Zone Tactics Against Submarine Cables.’ Shresth is currently a Graduate Policy Officer at the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade based in Canberra, Australia.

The Rhodes Academy. Each year, the Rhodes Academy brings together approximately 50 mid-career professionals from around the world to study and learn from leading ocean law and science scholars, judges, and practitioners about the law of the sea and its key legal instrument, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The Academy is organised by a consortium of research universities and institutes, led by the School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering at the University of New Hampshire. For more information about the Rhodes Academy and the writing competition, see https://marine.unh.edu/academics/rhodes-academy and https://marine.unh.edu/international-cable-protection-committee-writing-award.

The Award. Each year, the winner will receive either guaranteed admission and a full scholarship (covering the attendance fee, travel expenses, and shared hotel room) to the Rhodes Academy, or for a Rhodes Academy graduate from a prior year, a cash award of £4,500. The winner will receive assistance from the Rhodes Academy in seeking publication of the winning paper and will also be invited to speak at the next ICPC Plenary meeting which will be held in Nairobi, Kenya. The papers of all past winners have been published in peer-reviewed journals.

About the ICPC. ICPC is the world’s leading organisation promoting submarine cable protection and resilience. The ICPC works with its members, governments, international organisations, other marine industries, and the scientific community to: mitigate risks of natural and human damage to cables; develop recommendations and best practices for industry and governments throughout the cable project life cycle; promote scientific research addressing how cables exist in the marine environment; and promote the rule of law for the oceans. Founded in 1958 the ICPC has over 260 members from over 75 nations, including cable operators, owners, manufacturers, and industry service providers, as well as governments. For further information about the ICPC, see https://www.iscpc.org/.

ICPC Contact:
Kent Bressie, International Law Adviser, ICPC
+1 202 730 1337
[email protected]

Rhodes Academy Contact:
Judy Ellis, Rhodes Academy Administrator
School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering, University of New Hampshire
[email protected]

The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) is aware of media reporting regarding submarine telecommunications cables in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Strait of Hormuz is an important regional connectivity corridor supporting communications for countries in the region, and connecting those countries to wider international networks. Multiple submarine cable systems transit the area, including systems with landings in Gulf states and two cables landing in Iran.

Context Regarding Global Internet Traffic Claims

However, some recent media reporting has overstated the extent to which global internet connectivity depends on the Strait of Hormuz.

According to industry analysis by Telegeography, bandwidth traversing the Strait of Hormuz accounts for less than 1% of international bandwidth globally.

Industry analysis also indicates that figures sometimes cited in media reporting regarding Middle East connectivity often relate to broader regional traffic flows, including the Red Sea, rather than specifically to the Strait of Hormuz itself.

The Strait remains important for regional connectivity to countries in the Gulf. However, potential risks associated with submarine cable infrastructure in the area are more accurately characterised as regional rather than global in nature.

Cable Systems and Network Resilience

There are currently five active submarine cable system segments traversing the Strait of Hormuz, together with additional planned systems currently under development. Many other regional systems do not traverse the Strait itself.

Submarine cable networks are designed with resilience and redundancy as core operational principles. Modern networks are highly interconnected, with traffic capable of being rerouted across geographically diverse submarine and terrestrial routes in the event of cable faults or outages. The region is also supported by terrestrial connectivity routes that provide additional redundancy.

Many cable systems serving the Gulf region utilise branching architectures connected to larger international trunk systems. This network design provides additional operational flexibility and resilience and helps minimise the impact of individual cable faults.

Importance of the Global Submarine Cable Network

Globally, submarine telecommunications cables form the backbone of international digital connectivity, carrying the vast majority of international data taffic. The global submarine cable network today comprises approximately 500 cable systems and 1.8 million kilometres of cable infrastructure.

Submarine Cable Faults and Repairs

Submarine cable faults are not uncommon operational events. Industry data indicates that approximately 150–200 submarine telecommunications cable faults occur globally each year, with around 70–80% caused by accidental human activity such as commercial fishing activity and ships’ anchors, rather than sabotage.

The submarine cable industry maintains a robust and well-established global maintenance framework, including strategically located repair vessels, specialist marine engineering capability, and cooperative maintenance agreements that support efficient repair operations when faults occur.

International Law and Cable Protection

The ICPC continues to advocate for government policies that support submarine cable protection and resilience, including timely and efficient permitting processes for cable maintenance and repair operations.

Coastal states have sovereign rights within their territorial waters, including rights relating to activities on the seabed. Outside territorial seas, including within Exclusive Economic Zones, the ICPC supports the longstanding international legal framework established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which recognises the importance of protecting submarine cables as critical international infrastructure.

Cooperation Between Governments and Industry

The ICPC encourages continued cooperation between governments and industry to ensure submarine cable systems remain resilient, protected, and capable of rapid repair in the event of damage from any cause.

The ICPC publishes best practices for governments to support development and protection of submarine telecommunications cables, the infrastructure of the Internet.

Please also see the updated Media Enquiries & Frequently Asked Questions page for more.

Held from 14-16 April 2026 and under the theme ‘collaboration to protect global connectivity, the 2026 ICPC Plenary, was a standout success with over 270 delegates attending.

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PORTSMOUTH, United Kingdom—The International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC) concluded its 2026 Plenary in Athens, Greece from 14-16 April, bringing together global industry leaders, policymakers, and technical experts to address evolving challenges and opportunities facing critical submarine cable infrastructure and networks while highlighting the need for coordinated international engagement. ICPC sincerely thanks all the participants as well as sponsors, (Alcatel Submarine Networks and Vodafone Greece), for contributing to the successful outcome of the annual meeting. Hosting the Plenary in the Mediterranean region brought over 270 delegates—an attendance number record in the organisation’s history.

The Plenary opened with remarks from ICPC Chair Dean Veverka and General Manager Ryan Wopschall, who both emphasised the organisation’s continued mission to promote submarine cable protection worldwide. The day focused on key initiatives, working group progress, geopolitics, and environmental topics. Distinguished guest speaker, Judge Ida Caracciolo from the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), shared insights on international maritime law, UNCLOS, and the role of ITLOS.

Over the next two days, the Plenary featured global case studies and expert presentations from topics ranging from technological advancements shaping subsea cable resilience, advanced cable monitoring techniques, innovation to address congestion in transatlantic cable routes, and case studies on several topics including complex repair operations in challenging offshore and hazardous environments through to advances in sustainable seabed planning. The ICPC was also delighted to welcome another guest speaker, Bruno Pozzi from the International Seabed Authority (ISA), who took part in a lively fireside chat with ICPC Vice Chair Graham Evans.

The Plenary meeting reinforced a unified message of global cooperation and how it is critical to protecting the subsea networks that underpin the digital economy. This was highlighted in a regulatory and panel discussion of government representatives and policy experts which set out how practical collaboration across stakeholders—from governments to private sector operators—is essential to maintaining secure and resilient infrastructure.

About the ICPC: The International Cable Protection Committee is a non-commercial, non-profit international community of interest comprising more than 255 member organisations from 70 countries who are active in the critical activities of building, operating, and maintaining submarine telecommunications and power cable infrastructure. ICPC Member organisations represent over 98% of the world’s submarine telecommunications cable infrastructure, and an increasing number of international submarine power cables. To learn more about the ICPC, visit: www.iscpc.org or send an e-mail to [email protected]. If interested in joining the ICPC, visit: https://www.iscpc.org/join-the-icpc/.

The 2027 ICPC Plenary will take place next April in Nairobi, Kenya and hosted by the West Indian Ocean Cable Company (WIOCC). The ‘Call for Presentations’ will be issued in November 2026.