Dozens of Russian “search vessels” have been making suspicious movements near critical infrastructure in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea since the start of the war in Ukraine, VRT NWS reported on Tuesday after a search conducted in collaboration with Dutch, German and Scandinavian media. Other Russian ships, which are also sailing in the North Sea, cannot be geolocated, which is mandatory.
Since the beginning of this year, the media has been following all Russian ships sailing in the North Sea. They also track the shipping routes of 72 “specialized” Russian ships. According to the investigation, 16 of them have behaved suspiciously, up to 60 times during the period studied.
“For example, we are seeing suspicious movements off the coasts of the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Finland and the United Kingdom,” according to VRT NWS.
The investigation also shows that some of these ships, which do not officially belong to the Russian military, had armed soldiers on board.
In a reaction, Federal Minister Paul Van Tigchelt, responsible for the North Sea, announced that the NorthSeal platform will be operational next January. This project, which involves Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and Denmark, is intended to ensure a better exchange of classified information between allies, better surveillance and therefore better security of critical infrastructure in the North Sea. “This platform will make it possible to better prevent incidents such as the sabotage of Nord Stream in the future,” the minister said.
