caption,
Russian ships are believed to be preparing sabotage plans in case of war with western powers.
Item Information
- Author, Gordon Corera
- Rolle, Security Correspondent for BBC News
2 hours ago
Russia has a program to sabotage wind farms and communications cables in the North Sea, according to a joint investigation by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
They say that Russia has a fleet of ships disguised as fishing boats and research vessels in the North Sea.
They carry underwater surveillance gear and map out strategic locations for possible sabotage.
The BBC understands that the British authorities are aware that Russian ships are navigating British waters as part of the programme.
The first in a series of reports on the subject will be broadcast this Wednesday by broadcasters DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway, SVT in Sweden and Yle in Finland.
Credit, Morten Krüger, DR
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The investigation focuses on a Russian ship named Admiral Vladimirsky
transmitter off
A Danish counterintelligence agent said sabotage plans were being prepared in the event of an open conflict with the West, while the head of Norway’s intelligence service told broadcasters the program was very important to Russia and was controlled directly from Moscow.
Broadcasters say they have analyzed intercepted Russian communications that indicate the presence of “ghost ships,” which turn off transmitters to avoid revealing their locations sailing in Nordic waters.
The report focuses on a Russian ship named Admiral Vladimirsky.
Officially, this is an oceanographic vessel or an underwater research vessel. But the report claims it is actually a Russian spy ship.
The documentary uses a former British Royal Navy specialist who, on condition of anonymity, is tracking the ship’s movements near seven wind farms off the coast of the UK and Netherlands on a mission.
He says the ship slows as it approaches areas where there are wind farms and wanders around the area. And he claims it sailed with the transmitter off for a month.
As a reporter approached the ship in a small boat, he was confronted by a masked individual armed with what appeared to be a militarystyle assault rifle.
Credit, Morten Krüger, DR
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A gunman confronted the reporter as he approached the ship
The same ship was reportedly spotted off the coast of Scotland last year. It was seen entering the Moray Firth on 10 November and sighted about 30 nautical miles east of Lossiemouth, home of the British Air Force (RAF) fleet of maritime reconnaissance aircraft, before slowly heading west.
The BBC understands that British authorities are aware of Russia’s intention to conduct socalled underwater mapping, including the use of boats moving in British waters.
If there are specific threats against the UK, they will be investigated, but the sources declined to say what activities have been investigated so far.
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In February, the Dutch secret service issued an unusual official warning of activities that could indicate preparations for disruption or sabotage of maritime infrastructure. The country’s military intelligence chief said a Russian ship had been spotted near a wind farm in the North Sea and was mapping locations.
“We have seen Russian agents over the past few months trying to figure out how the North Sea energy system works. This is the first time we’ve seen this,” General Jan Swillens said.
Reconnaissance of sensitive locations is not uncommon, and Western countries are likely to engage in similar activities against Russia. The intent may be to have a range of options should the conflict escalate.
One option could be to damage communications or shut down countries’ power systems to cause chaos.
So far, the evidence of actual sabotage and not just random information gathering is more limited.
The report raises the possibility that such vessels were linked to an incident south of Svalbard last year when an underwater data cable was severed.
The cable served the world’s largest commercial earth station for satellite communications. Norwegian police said they believe “human activity” was behind the sabotage but have not formally charged anyone.
On April 13 this year, Norway expelled 15 Russian officials from the country, accusing them of espionage. It was the latest in a wave of forced displacement across Europe since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In October last year, police declared a serious incident in Shetland after a cable was cut.
The incident severely disrupted communications with the mainland and was then considered likely to have been caused by “fishing vessels”. Cables are regularly accidentally cut and as far as the BBC is aware this is not believed to have been the result of hostile activity.
There was one clear and significant act of sabotage the destruction last September of parts of the Nord Stream pipeline, which was supposed to transport gas from Russia to Europe.
At the time, many accused Russia of being responsible, but other reports have since suggested other possibilities, including proUkrainian agents as responsible, and investigations are ongoing.
The Russian military intelligence service GRU has also been linked to sabotage and poisoning. A GRU team linked to the 2018 poisoning of Sergei Skripal with the nerve agent Novichok in Salisbury has also been linked to the explosion at a weapons depot in a Czech forest.