Russian non-military ships have been monitoring oil pipelines and cables in the North Sea for many years, the Belgian newspaper De Tijd writes on June 20, citing an investigation by the portal Follow the Money (FTM).
According to the FTM, in the last ten years, 167 non-military Russian vessels have carried out 945 suspicious activities near critical infrastructure in the North Sea. These were research vessels, cargo ships, refrigerators, oil tankers, fishing vessels and even passenger vehicles.
It is noted that Russian ships carried out strange actions in the economic zones of the North Sea countries: Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain and Norway. Russian ships always came within a kilometer of pipes and cables and stayed there.
“A deviation from the route is not necessarily suspicious. On the contrary, this happens very often, even with non-Russian ships., Thomas De Spiegelere, spokesperson for the Directorate General of Maritime Transport, told De Tijd. — But it is suspicious if this happens in pipes and cables.”.
There are many concerns in Europe that Russia is exploring cables and pipes on the seabed for sabotage, eavesdropping or manipulation purposes. De Spiegelere added that the military has become more attentive to this since 2019, especially after the sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipeline in 2022.
Source: Rossa Primavera
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