Ireland escorts Russian spy ship away from waters filled with vital pipelines and cables

UK DEFENSE JOURNAL SCREENSHOT

The Guardian reported on November 16 that a Russian spy ship was escorted out of the Irish Sea after entering the waters and patrolling an area with important energy pipelines and telecommunications cables.

Initially, the Norwegian, US, French and British navies and air defenses simply watched as the Yantar escorted the Russian warship Admiral Golovko through the English Channel last weekend.

The Yantar was further spotted on November 11 and 12 west of Cork, Ireland, where a network of cables connects Ireland and France, some of which provide transatlantic connections. On November 14, the Yantar was spotted east of Dublin, Ireland, and southwest of the Isle of Man.

The Yantar appears to have turned off its transponder after entering Ireland’s exclusive economic zone, but the Irish Navy ship Lé James Joyce followed it. The Irish attempted to contact the Russian ship but received no response.

The Irish Defence Force believes a Russian ship was operating three unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in Irish waters, raising concerns it was carrying out espionage.

At one point, the Russian ship entered Ireland’s exclusive economic zone, just 5-7 km from the cables between Ireland and the UK. The Irish ship escorted the Russian spy ship out of the exclusive economic zone at around 3am on 15 November, and the air force continued to monitor it as it headed south.

Russia has not commented on the above information.

The Yantar is officially classified as an auxiliary general oceanographic research vessel with underwater rescue capabilities. It is assigned to a branch of the Russian Defense Ministry and is separate from the Navy.

The presence of the Russian ship has raised fresh concerns about the security of the cables between Ireland and the UK, which carry global internet traffic from the giant data centers run by tech companies such as Google and Microsoft, whose European Union (EU) regional headquarters are based in Ireland.

The sighting of the Russian spy ship comes as British defence forces monitor other Russian vessels near the country’s eastern seaboard. On November 14, British jets were also scrambled to track a Russian reconnaissance aircraft flying near British airspace, the Ministry of Defence said.

Edward Burke, Associate Professor of War History at University College Dublin, said the situation was alarming. "Once again we see the Russian Navy probing the defence capabilities of Western Europe. This is yet another wake-up call for Ireland to strengthen its naval capabilities and maritime security partnerships in Europe," he said.