MSC Alice. File photo: Andrew Mackinnon
Somali authorities have detained an MSC containership alleging that the vessel dragged anchor and cut an undersea fibre optic cable supplying internet to much of the country, according to reports.
Somalia has been suffering from an internet blackout since June 24 when the MSC Alice allegedly dragged anchor outside Mogadishu port, severing undersea fibre optic cables used by many of the country’s Internet Service Providers (ISPs).
MSC Alice is a Panamanian flagged containership owned and operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company.
“Following reports that an underwater cable was damaged, MSC is investigating the incident with other relevant parties and these investigations are at an early stage,” the company said in a statement.
Authorities were hoping to have internet restored sometime this week.
The internet outage was estimated to cost the country $10 million per day in lost business, according to the government.
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