More than a dozen underwater cables have been laid through the Red Sea. At least three of them were probably severed by the anchor of a cargo ship attacked by the Houthi militias. On 18 February 2024, two anti-ship missiles were fired at the bulk carrier "Rubymar" (171 metres, 19,000 tonnes), one of which hit the ship and caused severe damage. The ship sank on 2 March.
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English 
German
In Germany, the protection of critical infrastructure on the seabed is primarily the responsibility of the federal and state police forces - at least in peacetime. The Bundeswehr can provide administrative assistance upon request if free capacities are available. Among other things, this was the subject of a public hearing of the Bundestag's Committee on Internal Affairs on 1 July 2024 on the powers of the federal police. The massive deficits in the security structure in the relationship between the federal and state armed forces were addressed, as was the demand for an efficient German Coast Guard. The experts' statements are available at
https://www.bundestag.de/ausschuesse/a04_inneres/anhoerungen/1009796-1009796
The verbatim record of the hearing will be available soon.
Uwe Jenisch, Kiel
Repeating the current (inadequate and ineffective!) legal regulations over and over again does not help at all. The BP See is incapable of handling this task (then it could do nothing else, and it would also need more units and personnel - realisation can be forgotten). Unless, of course, the maritime services of all ministries were combined to form a truly powerful coastguard worthy of the name (like the US Coast Guard). A camel would sooner go through the eye of a needle than the relevant ministry leaders in Germany would agree to such a proposal.
It is high time to legally define the protection of critical infrastructure in peacetime as part of the mission of the armed forces (especially, but not only) the navy. If this is not done, we will be repeatedly surprised by sabotage attempts such as the recent one at the Cologne-Wahn airbase. And NO, the protection of critical infrastructure by the army would NOT be a return to the Third Reich or any other threat to the democratic constitutional state!
Matthias Roesner, Büttelborn