For most of the past two years, the scarce input for AI was chips. Increasingly it is electricity. Companies can order GPUs, but they cannot easily get a few hundred megawatts of grid power delivered to a site, and the wait for a new grid connection in many US regions now runs for years. That is why data center deals are announced in gigawatts, why tech companies are signing contracts to restart nuclear plants, and why some sites are building their own gas turbines.

Subsea cables carry almost all international internet traffic, and they break often. The industry records roughly 150 to 200 faults a year, most caused by fishing gear and ship anchors in shallow water. Since 2023 a cluster of breaks near geopolitical flashpoints has drawn much closer attention. This log records the significant incidents in date order, with the suspected vessel, what investigators found and where each case stands. Last updated: 15 September 2026.