UK Plans 14-Year Prison Terms for Subsea Cable Saboteurs as Russian Activity Raises Alarm

The British government has set out plans to overhaul laws dating back to 1885 and threaten anyone who deliberately damages critical subsea energy or telecoms infrastructure with up to 14 years in prison. Reckless or negligent damage would also face tougher penalties, including unlimited fines. The old Submarine Telegraph Act 1885 capped the fine for negligent cable damage at just £100.

The stakes are high. According to Whitehall, subsea cables carry around 99 percent of the UK's international data traffic, and underwater pipelines supply 74 percent of its gas. Under the proposals, subsea telecoms operators would have new legal duties to identify and manage security risks. Ministers would also gain powers to direct companies and cable repair providers to act where necessary and proportionate to protect national security. The government also wants to regulate fiber-optic sensing technology, which uses subsea cables to detect activity at sea but could pose a security risk if sensitive data reached hostile hands.

Russia features prominently in the government's thinking. In April, British forces reportedly exposed a covert Russian submarine operation near critical undersea infrastructure, involving an attack submarine acting as a decoy while two specialist vessels surveyed cable routes. Telecoms minister Ian Murray said the threats have changed dramatically, yet some of the laws protecting these connections are more than a century old.