CEO sends 'urgent message' to Australian Police after undersea cables damaged

Australia's Federal Police (AFP) is investigating after two undersea communication cables owned by Subco reported faults within minutes of each other. The fault has prompted the company's founder and CEO Bevan Slattery to urge authorities to launch an urgent probe. Slattery said the two cables developed "shunt faults" in close proximity inside a federally protected submarine cable zone off Perth, while what he described as "suspicious/coincidental" activity from a vessel was also recorded near the location at around the same time. The AFP confirmed it had received a report of a crime and is assessing the information.What are shunt faults A shunt fault occurs when the insulation around a conductor is damaged, allowing unintended contact with another conductor or the ground, effectively creating a short circuit. Slattery also shared the track of a marine vessel that was allegedly operating near the approximate location of the cable faults when they were detected. However, no evidence has yet linked the vessel to the incident.Subco CEO flags 'suspicious' vessel activity near cable faultsIn a LinkedIn post, Slattery said the Indigo-West cable, which connects Perth to Indonesia and Singapore, and the Indigo-Central cable, which connects Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales, both reported shunt faults one after another."Earlier tonight: Shunt faults on two systems (Indigo West and Indigo Central) straight after each other and in close proximity to each other. Remarkably this also happened in the Submarine Cable Protection Zone off Perth Australia," he wrote.He added that there was "some suspicious/coincidental activity from a vessel near the location and timing of the shunts occurring."Calling the incident concerning, Slattery said submarine cables are "the digital lifeblood of our nation" and urged the Australian Federal Police to investigate the matter urgently. He also noted that this could become the second such incident inside a federally declared cable protection zone if sabotage is confirmed.Here's what he wrote"Earlier tonight: Shunt faults on two systems (Indigo West and Indigo Central) straight after each other and in close proximity to each other. Remarkably this also happened in the Submarine Cable Protection Zone off Perth Australia.Coincidently some suspicious/coincidental activity from a vessel near the location and timing of the shunts occurring.This is a concerning development. Partially because submarine cables are the digital lifeblood of our nation, but also because this this could very well turn out to be the second such incidence in a Federally declared cable protection zone.This maybe a coincidence, but it’s important for the Australian Federal Police to investigate the issue urgently."Australian Federal Police confirms investigationThe AFP confirmed that it had received a report related to the incident. "The AFP has received a report of crime in relation to this matter," the agency said in a statement, adding that the report is currently being assessed and further comments will be made when appropriate.So far, authorities have not confirmed whether the cables were intentionally damaged.Get the latest technology news and updates. Download the TOI App.