SUBMARINE CABLES AND PIPELINES Anchoring and any use of gear towed on the bottom is prohibited within the protection zone which extends 200 metres on each side of submarine cables and pipelines. Gas from a damaged oil or gas pipeline could cause an explosion, loss of a vessel's buoyancy or other hazard. Pipelines are not always buried and their presence may effectively reduce the charted depth by as much as 2 metres. They may also span seabed undulations and cause fishing gear to become irrecoverably snagged, putting a vessel in severe danger.