Armed Russian research vessels regularly spying on infrastructure in North Sea: report

Russian research vessels carrying armed soldiers are systematically spying on infrastructure in the Baltic and North Seas, according to international research by Pointer and journalists from six other countries. In the case of the Netherlands, Russian ships behaved suspiciously around wind farms off the Dutch coast multiple times.

The researchers analyzed intercepted Morse code messages and public location data from 72 Russian research vessels and ships linked to espionage or sabotage. In total, these vessels made 428 voyages since the start of the war in Ukarine. On at least 54 voyages, the ships behaved suspiciously within a European country’s exclusive economic zone (EZZ, an area up to 370.4 km from the coast), sailing extremely slowly, following conspicuous zigzag patterns, or stopping completely.

That happened seven times in Dutch waters, usually around wind farms. The Akademik Karpinsky (2024), Admiral Vladimirsky (2023), and Akademik Boris Petrov (2022) sailed suspiciously through the Dutch EEZ multiple times.

There were also 15 suspicious voyages off the coast of Denmark, nine near Estonia, nine near the United Kingdom, eight near Norway, four near Finland, and two near Germany. In seven voyages, the researchers couldn’t determine whether the Russian vessels sailed into or near an EEZ. Most of these suspicious voyages took place near critical infrastructure, including a NATO submarine diving area near Germany, the Dutch wind farms, and the Balticconector gas pipeline between Estonia and Finland.

Officially, Russia uses the research vessels for hydrographic surveys or subsea rescue operations. However, the researchers found that the vessels are often also used for military purposes and typically accompanied by military personnel.

A former crew member of the research vessel, Sibriyakov, told the researchers that Russia has a strategic view of critical infrastructure - gaining advantage in the event of war. “The direct function of the research vessels is, therefore, to scan the seabed and provide information to the military,” the former crew member said.

“They are mapping all our critical infrastructure with very sophisticated equipment, with the aim of sabotaging it,” James Appathurai, NATO Assistant Secretary General, told Pointer. “Over the last six months, we have seen an increase in the threats against our countries. These include sabotage, political interference, disinformation, cyber-attacks, forced migration, and attacks on critical undersea infrastructure. They are all part of a pattern that we have to defend against. We are doing a lot, but we are not sufficiently prepared.”