Cayman’s Internet Connectivity: MAYA-1 Sub-Sea Cable Damaged From June 21, 2024 To September 11, 2024. These OfReg Outage Reports Explain Why.

By Alric Lindsay

In July 2024, a freedom of information request was initially sent to the Ministry of Planning & Infrastructure to provide information on the damage to the MAYA-1 submarine cable in June 2024. The Ministry of Planning forwarded that request to the Utility Regulation and Competition Office (OfReg).  OfReg responded to the request during 2024, and on January 25, 2025, Ofreg provided emails and outage reports related to the damage, repair, and impact assessment of the submarine cable from June 21, 2024, to September 11, 2024.  To give members of the public insight into the submarine cable repair process and why the process took so long, the emails and outage reports are now being shared below.

Outage Reports: June 21, 2024 to August 8, 2024

Resolution of MAYA-1 damage on September 11, 2024

Reasons for repair delays from June 2024 to September 2024

As explained in the email correspondence between OfReg and cwnetworks.com, the repair delays from June 2024 to September 2024 were due to the time taken:

• to obtain a repair permit to do offshore repairs in Mexico
• for the cable ship ‘Wave Sentinel’ to arrive at the location
• to inspect the cable ship ‘Wave Sentinel’ by the Mexican Customs and Border Patrol teams.
• by divers to conduct repairs and remove damaged cable from the seafloor

In addition to the above, delays occurred because of bad weather.

Summary

The foregoing highlights the vulnerability of internet connectivity for the Cayman Islands.  Using OfReg’s own words:

Maya 1 is one of the two undersea cables providing Cayman’s international connectivity requirements.

Its repair brings to an end a period of internet traffic re-routing via Cayman’s second undersea cable connection, the Cayman Jamaica Fibre System (CJFS) and restores full capacity.

While Cayman maintained connectivity with the rest of the world; the outage on a portion of the cable in Mexican waters highlighted the need for discussion relating to cost and availability of alternate or redundant connectivity routes. 

OfReg CEO Sonji Myles elucidated:

 As an Island territory, international connectivity is critical for Cayman in that it underpins the socioeconomic fabric of the country by providing access to the internet for domestic and business users in the country, including the financial services industry, tourism, government, hospitals and schools.

Any loss of service over these critical areas of infrastructure has the potential for severe consequences.

We will continue to work with our licensees, cable owners, operators and other stakeholders to ensure that Cayman’s international connectivity ecosystem is effectively maintained, resilient and protected.

Based on the above, it is critical for the Cayman Islands to explore alternatives like Starlink or obtain a connection to a third undersea cable. Without other options, the Cayman Islands may be vulnerable regarding international internet connectivity.

Note to readers:

A diagram of MAYA-1 and an explanation of landing stations can be found using the below link:

https://www.submarinenetworks.com/en/systems/brazil-us/maya-1

A diagram of the Cayman-Jamaica Fibre System can be found on the below link:

https://www.submarinecablemap.com/submarine-cable/cayman-jamaica-fiber-system-cjfs

OfReg’s press release summarizing the issues, published in September 2024, can located at the below link:

https://www.ofreg.ky/news/maya-1-undersea-cable-now-repaired

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