Vietnamese Fishermen Harvest Internet Cables

As if the internet didn't have enough problems, what with the NSA trolling packets for sharp words and black hole routers swallowing packets, fishermen in Vietnam are now salvaging underseas fiber optic cables that connect the nation's computers to Thailand and Hong Kong, according to Reuters. The fishermen had been allowed to harvest unused underwater copper cables, but have gone rogue, pulling up expensive fiber optic cable. The Vietnam government plans to replace one 7 mile section of cable at a cost of $5.8 million.

In all, about 43 km (27 miles) of fibre-optic cable is missing, including about 32 km (20 miles) stolen from a cable operated by a Singaporean company.

The theft began after the government in the southern province of Ba Ria-Vung Tau last year allowed fishermen and soldiers to salvage undersea copper cable laid before 1975 to sell as scrap.

The Vietnam war in which the United States backed a South Vietnam government, ended in April 1975 when communist North Vietnam troops captured Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City.

The permission to salvage the cable has been withdrawn, the ministry has asked the Coast Guard to increase patrols and inspections and officials have started a public relations campaign to educate fishermen about the importance of the cables.

One wonders what exactly these salvagers would actually do with the cable? Take up phishing?

Hat Tip: RC Photo of Ha Long Bay: Tim Lindenschmidt