A Russian'spy ship' obtained intelligence about Scottish wind farms. According to a claim.
An investigation claims that a Russian "spy ship" obtained intelligence from wind farms off the coast of Scotland.
According to a joint report by Danish, Swedish, Finnish, and Norwegian broadcasters, the ship Admiral Vladimirsky was part of an operation to map subsurface infrastructure in the North Sea.
The vessel is officially classified as an ocean research vessel, but according to the source, it is part of a fleet that is inspecting vital energy installations for potential sabotage.
Danish broadcaster DR has released footage from a November meeting at sea between a small boat carrying their team and a Russian ship off the Danish coast.
It depicts a man on the deck of the Admiral Vladimirsky wearing a balaclava and military gear and wielding an assault rifle.
The ship is believed to have entered the Moray Firth on November 10, 2017.
Danish broadcaster DR's Niels Fastrup spoke to STV about the inquiry.
"It appears to have been loitering in the Moray Firth area for a few days," he said.
"According to the source we've been speaking with, and we showed them our data, what they believe is that it is looking into some of the offshore wind farms in Scottish waters."
"The next time it came to a halt was outside of Aberdeen, at the Seagreen wind farm."
"According to our experts and intelligence sources we've been talking to, the purpose of that stop was also to investigate the Seagreen wind farm in order to look for possible vulnerabilities to exploit in the event of an escalation in the current conflict situation between Russia and the Western world."
The safety of North Sea infrastructure has received more attention as tensions with Russia have risen, particularly in the aftermath of the Nord Stream pipeline attack.
When European defense ministers convened in Edinburgh last year for a Joint Expeditionary Force summit, Ben Wallace of the UK government warned about the need of securing undersea internet cables.
Norway's oil and gas infrastructure, he claimed, was "particularly vulnerable" because it had become Europe's principal supplier.
The Royal Navy is buying two specialised subsea surveillance ships, which will enter service this year.
"The Government takes the security and resilience of our national infrastructure very seriously," a MoD spokeswoman said.
"That is why, in the aftermath of the Nord Stream incident, we increased Royal Navy presence patrols and invested £65 million in the first of our two Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ships."
"We continue to assess all of our investments and activities in light of the full spectrum of threats and risks."
Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), the offshore sector's trade group, stated that the safety of their facilities is being discussed with the government.
"Offshore Energies UK remains engaged with relevant Government bodies, including the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (formally BEIS); North Sea Transition Authority; Health & Safety Executive; and Police Scotland, on resilience and security of UK energy supply," said operations director Mark Wilson.
"We also run the OEUK security committee, which receives briefings from relevant government agencies."
"The physical security of offshore and onshore energy infrastructure remains a regular engagement."
By Covenant


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