Microsoft has reported that Azure customers may encounter delays in connectivity because of damage to several submarine (undersea) cables in the Red Sea. This reported was filed on Saturday in an updated status message for its Azure system.
The cloud-based company emphasized in the report that the service disruptions will have impact mostly on traffic routes through the Middle East and Asia. "We do expect higher latency on some traffic that previously traversed through the Middle East," the company said.
Microsoft made it explicitly clear that network traffic that does not traverse through the Middle East is not impacted, and the company promised to continue providing daily updates regarding the matter. Meanwhile, the company has taken bold steps to rerouted traffics.
According to Reuters, "as a result of the disruption, Microsoft Azure, the world's second largest cloud provider after Amazon's cloud service AWS—has rerouted traffic through alternate network paths and network traffic is not interrupted."
Despite the fact that the company has since rerouted traffic through alternate network path, some users are still facing slower performance. Microsoft said its engineers are “continuously monitoring, rebalancing, and optimizing routing” to mitigate customer impact.
The cable cuts also degraded internet access in parts of Asia and the Middle East, including countries like India and Pakistan, as reported by AP. The affected region is a critical global digital corridor, linking Europe, Africa, and Asia—and this incident highlights its vulnerability.
The Red Sea Cable disruptions—which happened On September 6, 2025—involved the cut of multiple undersea fiber-optic cables in the Red Sea. This occurred at approximately 05:45 UTC and impacted key data routes between Asia, the Middle East, and Europe.
Affected cable systems include the SMW4 and IMEWE, notably near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as reported by internet monitor NetBlocks. Although, the exact cause of this incident hasn't been confirmed, but accidental damage (e.g., from ship anchors) and deliberate targeting have both occurred in the past.
Notably, past investigations into cable damage in the Red Sea have pointed to Houthi-related maritime activity. though this just a speculation and unconfirmed causes.
Undersea cable networks are designed with redundancy. When one cable fails, automated routing systems redirect traffic through alternate paths but with slow speed because the traffics load will be much on the dependable network paths. However, full restoration often takes weeks, due to the logistical challenges of deploying repair ships and navigating politically sensitive waters.
