Seychelles to East Africa System (SEAS)

Overview

The Seychelles to East Africa System (SEAS) is a regional submarine cable connecting the island nation of Seychelles to the East African mainland. Spanning 1,930 kilometres, it serves the corridor between the western Indian Ocean archipelago and the Tanzanian coast, providing a direct undersea link between these two countries.

Route and Landings

In Seychelles, SEAS lands at Victoria, the capital located on Mahé island. On the African mainland, the cable lands at Dar es Salaam, Tanzania's largest city and principal commercial port. These two endpoints define the cable's route across the western Indian Ocean.

Ownership and Operators

SEAS is owned by Seychelles Cable System Ltd., a company based in Seychelles. As a single-owner system, it differs from many regional cables that are structured as multi-party consortia.

Status and Timeline

SEAS entered service in 2012, making it 14 years operational. It was the first submarine cable to land in Seychelles, marking a milestone in the country's international connectivity. The cable continues to operate between its two landing points.

Regional Context

SEAS operates within a corridor that has seen considerable expansion in submarine cable infrastructure over the past decade. The Eastern Africa Submarine System (EASSy), which also lands in Tanzania, entered service in 2010 and represents an earlier generation of East African connectivity. More recently, DARE 1 (2021), PEACE Cable (2022 in Seychelles), and the much longer 2Africa system (2024, serving both Seychelles and Tanzania) have added capacity to this region. SEAS remains the shortest system among these peers at 1,930 kilometres, reflecting its focused point-to-point design rather than a broader regional or intercontinental reach.

Measured performance over the last 60 days, based on 109 ping tests, shows an average round-trip latency of 173.3 milliseconds, with a best recorded result of 148.8 milliseconds.

Strategic Role

SEAS provides a direct submarine connection between Seychelles and Tanzania, linking an island nation with limited overland connectivity options to the East African mainland. With Victoria as Seychelles' sole cable landing point and Dar es Salaam as one of two cable landing points in Tanzania, SEAS represents a dedicated path for traffic between these two countries. Alongside newer and longer systems now serving the same corridor, it continues to form part of the undersea infrastructure available to both nations.