Russian spy ship ‘gathered intelligence off UK coast for energy sabotage plans’

A Russian “spy” ship stopped at sites off the coast of Britain as part of plans to sabotage key energy infrastructure, an investigation by European broadcasters claims.

A joint report by broadcasters in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway claims the Admiral Vladimirsky was part of an operation to map undersea infrastructure.

According to the report, the ship sailed around the Baltic Sea and the North Sea for a month, passing current and future wind farms off the coast of several Scandinavian countries, as well as Britain.

[ Russian ships return to Ireland’s west coast despite appearing to depart for Africa ]

The broadcasters say that the ship is part of a fleet of espionage boats, disguised as fishing trawlers and scientific research vessels, which is examining key energy sites for possible sabotage.

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Danish broadcaster DR has published video of an encounter at sea between a small boat carrying their team and the Russian ship, filmed off the Danish coast in November. It shows a man, wearing a balaclava and military gear and carrying an assault rifle, appearing on the deck of the Admiral Vladimirsky. The ship is thought to have entered the Moray Firth, off the coast of Scotland, on November 10th last year.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The government takes the security and resilience of our national infrastructure very seriously.

“That is why we increased Royal Navy presence patrols after the Nord Stream incident and have invested £65 million in the first of our two Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ships.

“We continue to review all our investments and activities against the full range of threats and risks.”

Offshore Energies UK, the trade body for the offshore sector, said the safety of their installations was a matter of ongoing discussion with the government. - PA