The Russian-linked “Dark Fleet” vessel suspected of cutting international power lines and four Internet backbone cables in the Baltic Sea on Christmas Day may also have been acting as a signals intelligence vessel.
oil tanker is Eagle SThe ship, suspected to be part of Russia's “dark fleet” to evade international sanctions against oil exports, was boarded by Finland this week after it was suspected of deliberately dragging its anchor to the seabed and destroying it there. He was captured. cable. Now a major British maritime publication has revealed further information about the ship, revealing that it was previously discovered to be functioning as a “spy ship”.
The oil tanker's flying bridge was handed over equipment and a case of laptops for the purpose of intercepting and recording signals intelligence. Lloyd's List stateclaimed that other ships in Russia's oil trading “dark fleet” were known to be carrying the same.
This information was obtained from previous research. Eagle S, The report includes information such as: list It was confirmed to be genuine in June. In addition to concerns about the safety of the ship itself, it was also revealed that there were people on board who were not sailors and that it was carrying extensive signals intelligence equipment.
Lloyd's List He said the equipment was “unusual” for a commercial ship and consumed enough electricity to cause a power outage on board. Their sources said the signals intelligence kit was carried aboard the ship in a “huge portable suitcase” and was operated by “Russian, Turkish and Indian radio personnel.”
In operation, the device is said to “record all radio frequencies and monitor all NATO naval ships and aircraft.” They had all the details. They just matched their frequencies. ”
of Eagle S It is currently in Finnish government custody, with a team of armed police rappelling onto the deck from a helicopter, reportedly the first time the Finnish military has performed such a feat outside of training. Finnish Broadcasting Corporation: Police are investigating ship and crew on suspicion of 'serious vandalism' Mr Eel said: Beyond initial reports that only one cable was destroyed, it is believed that the ship actually severed five cables in the Gulf of Finland over a seven-hour period before being intercepted.
NATO responded to the attack by saying it was to strengthen Russia's presence in the Baltic Sea, a major trade route, and Estonia has already dispatched patrol vessels to more closely monitor the waters around critical underground infrastructure.
Russia's use of commercial ships to disguise its intelligence-gathering activities is similar to the kind seen around the world during the Cold War, when so-called spy trawl fleets disguised themselves as fishing vessels to gather information about the West. It's like a return to the old days. And their navy. Breitbart London reported last year on the phenomenon, in which ostensibly civilian ships were spotted carrying military radios and heavily armed “security” teams.
As stated then:
Hidden military radios discovered by police, heavily armed Russian-like security guards onboard civilian ships, and plans to suddenly attack and destroy key infrastructure in the event of an all-out war with the West. There are some notable claims being made.
In response to this claim, particular attention has been focused on the activities of the Russian ocean research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky. The ship apparently took the time to carefully map the undersea cables used by wind farms and power plants, blurring the lines between legitimate private business and government espionage. It proves that there is. Power and data transmission. Given the Western world's fundamental dependence on electricity and the internet, the amount of time ships and other vessels spend navigating around underwater infrastructure is a cause for serious concern.
The Russian ambassador angrily denied the allegations made by the four broadcasters' investigation, saying they were caused by “ethnic discrimination” and Russophobia against Russians, the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) reported.
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