Fiji, Aug. 7 -- The Manatua Consortium is coordinating a regional response after a technical fault on the Manatua submarine cable disrupted internet services in parts of the Pacific, with repair work now dependent on securing a specialist cable repair vessel.

The fault occurred about 144 kilometres offshore from Samoa and has resulted in degraded internet services, particularly affecting users in Niue and the Cook Islands.

Initial diagnostic tests identified an electrical shunt near Repeater 2, an undersea component that maintains the strength of the optical signal along the 3,600-kilometre fibre-optic cable linking Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands and French Polynesia.

The Consortium said current assessments indicate the problem is relat...