On October 20, the 23,000 residents of the Shetland archipelago in the north of the UK, whose waters are rich in oil, lost access to most telecommunications networks due to a break in the SHEFA2 fiber optic submarine cable connecting them to Scotland and the Faroe Islands. islands. And that while another cable had been damaged a few days earlier in the same region.
Coincidence or not, almost at the same time, the ship “Akademik Boris Petrov”, built by the Russian Institute of Oceanology PP Shirshov, was sighted in the North Sea. And according to AIS data [Système d’identification automatique] making it possible to track maritime traffic, this building with a “scientific” vocation would have left Kaliningrad three days earlier and followed the submarine cables before passing the Faslane naval base, which houses the submarine equipment for nuclear launchers [SNLE] the Royal Navy. Since then he has been drawn to Brazil.
Apparently, the presence of a vessel equipped for seabed surveys near the Shetland Islands shortly after the SHEFA2 cable rupture is something that could raise suspicions.
In any case, the north of Scotland seems to be of particular interest to Moscow, as another Russian oceanography research vessel, “Admiral Vladimirsky”, [projet 852], has also been sighted near the Shetland Islands. This is actually reported by the blog “The Auxiliary Shipping Forecast”, which is based on AIS data.
***TO UPDATE***
If you live on the east coast of #Scotland and if you look out your window today, you might see this #Russian Spy ship “Admiral Vladimirskiy” heading south. Been in Moray Firth since 10th November. #OSINT
Image reference: pic.twitter.com/5we7GqgnxI
— HELLO Sutton (@CovertShores) November 13, 2022
This ship of more than 9,000 tons, specializing in underwater studies and the last of a class of six specimens, does not fall under the responsibility of either the PP Shorshov Institute or the Main Directorate for Deep Sea Research [GUCI], suspected of being too interested in underwater infrastructure. In fact, normally based in Kronstadt, it is attached to the Russian Baltic Fleet.
According to AIS data, Admiral Vladimirsky sailed on November 4. After leaving the Gulf of Finland, it passed through the Exclusive Economic Zone [ZEE] Swedish, cruise off the – strategic – island of Gotland. He then made his way to the site of the explosion that damaged the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline northeast of the island of Bornholm before leaving the Baltic Sea three days after leaving.
In the North Sea, passing near oil and gas fields, Admiral Vladimirsky entered the Moray Firth, a bay in northeast Scotland. He then sailed some 30 nautical miles off Lossiemouth, a town that is home to a Royal Air Force base. [RAF].
It’s not the first time a Russian military boat has been sighted in the Moray Firth. For example, on October 31, 2020, the Viktor Leonov, a ship dedicated to electronic reconnaissance, and the oil tanker Sergey Osipov were monitored there by the British patrol ship HMS Tynes. It was explained that they had sought shelter from storm Aiden which had just swept across the UK. Only when the snuff was over did they stay there for several days…
In addition, Admiral Vladimirsky has already approached the British coast in the past. In December 2017, it was under surveillance by the Royal Navy when several other Russian vessels – including the frigate Admiral Gorchkov – entered the British EEZ.
Given the war in Ukraine and poor relations between London and Moscow, Admiral Vladimirsky’s several-day presence just 30 nautical miles from the Scottish coast is nothing anecdotal. Especially since we don’t know the exact nature of his mission.