UAE nabbed a pair of ships suspected for undersea cable cutting
By Paul Miller 
posted Apr 14th 2008 11:28AM
posted Apr 14th 2008 11:28AM
Turns out the United Arab Emirates took two ships into custody on February 19th after those infamous cable cuttings. Wayward anchors are suspected to be at fault, and the Korean company responsible for one of the vessels just agreed to fork over 60 grand in damages in exchange for the release of its ship. The other ship, which is owned by an Iraqi company, is still under Dubai custody, and the two sailors on board were arrested and are awaiting prosecution next week. As for us, we're standing by our space aliens in league with garden gnomes theory. It all just adds up.[Thanks, Mike]
garden gnomes lol
testing password..
you are an idiot. it literally makes me mad to see that.
Space aliens would never work with Garden Gnomes. Not since Crop-Circlegate and Lawn-Contra.
That's awesome: "For fear of security, we won't disclose the location of the undersea cables so you can avoid them, but when you cut one accidentally, we'll be sure to charge you $60,000 in fines..."
You can still get a ticket even if you don't intend to speed.
Besides, compared to the trouble it caused, I don't think $60,000 is really that much.
well considering the absolute vastness of the ocean, i'd imagine the probability of striking an underwater cable while dropping your anchor to be virtually 0. The only way they could have hit it would be to drop their anchor, and drag it along the bottom until it hits something, which sounds pretty dumb to me. they ought to be fined much more considering how much damage they caused.
@Mikey
To use your speeding analogy, this would be like not posting the speed limit, then giving tickets to anyone who exceeded the limit that only you know about.
I'm sure if you got a ticket for speeding in an area with no posted speed limit, you would fight that in court.
Your right, my analogy is flawed. I originally meant to demonstrate the differences in intent (Malum prohibitum vs Malum in se).
It's called a "speed trap." They do exist. Most people don't bother fighting the ticket unless they live in the area. The same has happened in this story.
That concept sounds just like dealing with my wife. The "rules" are easy to break, without warning, they're never made public, the cost of breaking them is high and there's no right of appeal.
Of course, it's harder to get a divorce from your anchor
That picture is absolutely perfect for this story! Well it's not a fat optical backbone trunk but still perfect.
I have a fat optical backbone trunk in my pants...
Evil Robot!!
I thought that multiple cables had been severed. What were these ships doing just traveling around with their anchors down? Are they saying that this destruction just happened accidentally?
Yep, that's exactly what they're saying. The chances of this happening are actually rather high, at least compared to what you'd expect: with 50-odd cables snapped a year by dragging anchors, it wasn't long before two proximate ones got snapped within a short time period. I suggest this article from The Economist in order to dispel any conspiracy theories that may be percolating in your tinfoil hat-covered head:
http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10653963
Its not tinfoil you buffoon!. The latest and greatest in electromagnetic dispersal systems is the armadillo structured extra-cranial hydrophobic support system, i thought everyone knew that! duh!.
Two? Ok, I'll bite that one. But didn't 5 get snapped in total?
I live in the UAE. ^_^
Please don't vote me down.
Sorry, but your people broke the internet....
Stephen, stephen, stephen, Don't be mean!.
Many others use their seaways!.
I blame the french!.
al qaeda would never stoop so low as to work with the MPAA
It was the MPAA in league with Al Qaeda!
Al Qaeda is evil but not so evil.
I thought Ryan was responsible?
http://twitter.com/ryanblock/statuses/684237632
Someone charge him $60,000!
Ryan is like the Whitemore dude from LOST. Even though he is not on the ship he has been masterminding it all along...
The Cable Guy was a very bizarre film... Jim Carrey is still a God, though.
I see what you did there.
You did!?
Damn you!
Umm... what did he do?
'Cos I sure as hell can't see it.
Well judging on my comment being low ranked, I am assuming that either people don't like Jim Carrey (any more?) or that they thought the Cable Guy was a very normal film with virtually no surreality in it at all.
I don't know.
I for one truly like Jim Carrey.
Let's see if I get low ranked.
I like Jim Carrey. More Ace Ventura!
@Esat
Maybe I'm missing it, but I'm thinking Bruce Almighty...
Lawn Gnomes!!! It was definitely the Gnomes!
http://www.lawngnomemafia.com
Uh wait, how about those other 4 or 5 cables ? :/
how do they know where it was cut?
"As for us, we're standing by our space aliens in league with garden gnomes theory. It all just adds up."—to *what*?
I don't think the garden gnomes had anything to do with it, they don't swim very well. Now aliens and crab people, there you have something.
So....They think it was Jim Carrey?
One word: Weapons of mass destruction!