A Russian spy ship has been escorted out of the Irish Sea after entering Irish-controlled waters and patrolling an area containing key energy and internet submarine cables and pipelines.
The ship was spotted on Thursday east of Dublin and southwest of the Isle of Man, but was initially tracked by the navies and air forces of Norway, the US, France and Great Britain, while last weekend it tracked the Russian warship Admiral Golovko through the English Channel, the Guardian reports.
The Irish Navy ship LE James Joyce escorted the spy ship out of Ireland's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at around 3am on Friday, while the air force continued to monitor its southward movement.
The ship's presence has raised new concerns about the security of interconnector cables between Ireland and the UK, which carry global internet traffic from the large data centers of companies such as Google and Microsoft, whose EU headquarters are based in Ireland.
A Russian intelligence ship was also spotted as the British Defense Force tracked other Russian ships near its eastern coast. On Thursday, British fighter jets took off to escort a Russian reconnaissance plane close to British airspace, the Ministry of Defense announced.
The ship was also seen on Monday and Tuesday west of Cork, where there are other interconnectors between Ireland and France, including some offering transatlantic connections.
At one point, the ship was inside the Irish EEZ, just 5-7 kilometers north of the cables connecting Ireland and Great Britain.
Edward Burke, assistant professor of war history at the University of Dublin, told the Examiner that the situation was alarming
"Once again we are witnessing how the Russian Navy is testing the defenses of Western Europe. This is another wake-up call – one we didn't need – that Ireland needs to strengthen its naval capabilities and deepen maritime security partnerships in Europe," he said.
The ship is believed to have been spotted by the Irish Defense Forces operating three drones over Irish waters, sparking fears it was conducting intelligence surveillance.
Concerns about critical infrastructure across Europe have been repeatedly expressed this year, especially after the alleged sabotage of the Baltic gas pipeline and undersea internet cables between Finland and Estonia. In August, China acknowledged that a Hong Kong-flagged ship had damaged the pipeline, but said it was accidental.
The vessel Jantar is officially classified as an auxiliary general oceanographic research vessel with underwater rescue capabilities. It is assigned to a department of the Russian Ministry of Defense and is separate from the Navy.
The ship can use deep-sea devices and has been seen several times near undersea infrastructure, according to open intelligence analysts Navy Lookout. Analysts said the ship's mission was "probably more focused on strategic signaling and intelligence gathering" than sabotage.
The Irish and British Defense Forces have been working together since the ships entered the waters off the UK coast in a significant multi-national operation.
Jantar traveled with the ship Golovko and the tanker Vyazma, while their movement through the English Channel was monitored by the ships RFA Tideforce and HMS Iron Duke, reports the Guardian.
When Jantar broke away from Golovko and headed north into the Irish Sea, it was followed by the British ship HMS Cattistock. The operation became public when the ship activated its automatic identification system for four minutes on Thursday south of the Isle of Man.
According to reports, the ship switched off its transponder after entering the Irish EEZ, but the Irish ship continued to track it.
They tried to make contact with the ship, but Russian personnel did not respond, and at around 3am on Friday the ship left Irish waters and headed south.
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