Special to WorldTribune.com

The United States is concerned that Russian submarines or deep sea submersible vessels could sever or damage fiber-optic cables that carry 95 percent of global communications.

Officials told The New York Times that Russian submarines and a ship carrying deep sea submersible craft have been spotted near American shores.

The Times report cited an incident in September where the U.S. tracked a Russian ship carrying two deep-sea submersibles as it sailed near the U.S. coast and then on to Cuba. U.S. officials said the submersibles were capable of cutting undersea fiber-optic cables, one of which is located near Guantanamo Bay.

“The level of activity is comparable to what we saw in the Cold War,” a senior European diplomat told the Times.

Undersea fiber-optic cables are often damaged by ship anchors or natural disasters and are easily repaired.

The Pentagon is concerned that Moscow could target cables at greater depths that are more difficult to repair and may be looking for secret underwater cables installed by the U.S. military.

The underwater cables are a vital tool for intelligence agencies. The U.S. has a nuclear submarine dedicated to tapping the cables.

The undersea cables have also become vital to the global economy, facilitating $10 trillion in daily global business, according to the Times report.

  deep sea submersibles, fiber-optic cables, Pentagon: Russian submersibles could sever undersea internet cables, U.S. says, WorldTribune.com