- New submarine routes promise independence but expose new risks in unstable regions
- The Black Sea has become the next frontier in the fight for Europe’s digital sovereignty
- Fears of cable sabotage have turned telecommunications infrastructure into a national security issue
A new submarine cable project will link Bulgaria, Georgia, Türkiye and Ukraine without passing through Russian waters.
The new Kardesa route, expected to begin construction in 2027, would establish a new digital corridor between Europe and Asia, avoiding the political and physical vulnerabilities of existing systems.
Currently, the undersea cable map shows only one cable crossing the Black Sea between Georgia and Bulgaria, with others connecting nearby states but still touching routes influenced by Moscow.
Safety under the waves
The Kardesa line could therefore change regional Internet routing by providing a more direct and independent link, at a time when the security of global data transfer remains uncertain.
Recent incidents in the Red Sea have revealed how fragile undersea networks can be, after several cables were disrupted and global traffic slowed between Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
The idea behind Kardesa and other projects like Meta’s planned 50,000-kilometer global cable is to ensure that when one road fails or is sabotaged, another can maintain service.
Some call this “route diversity” and it is quickly becoming a strategic rather than a technical priority.
Countries are now investing in systems that can detect or deter sabotage. Germany’s AP Sensing developed sonar-based monitoring tools to identify interference.
For added security, NATO has begun using drones to patrol sea lanes that host vital infrastructure.
Still, the claim that bypassing Russia automatically makes the Internet safer invites skepticism.
Route changes could avoid one geopolitical flashpoint but expose others. Ukraine, where part of the Kardesa cable will pass, remains an area of uncertainty.
The plan to run the cable only through internationally recognized safe areas could limit the risk, but not eliminate it completely.
Likewise, avoiding Russia does not protect against cyber intrusion or remote interference with signals infrastructure.
As with digital privacy tools, like the best VPN or a secure router, physical protections offer only part of a complex solution.
If this new connection is successful, it could mark a change in the way Europe and its partners view online independence.
Through Tom Hardware
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