An investigation by European broadcasters claims a Russian “spy” ship stopped at sites around windfarms in the North Sea — including off the coast of Scotland – in order to gather intelligence.
The ship Admiral Vladimirsky was part of an operation to map undersea infrastructure, a joint report by broadcasters in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway claims.
The report says that while the ship was officially classified as an ocean research vessel, it is part of a fleet which is examining key energy sites for possible sabotage.
Danish broadcaster DR has published video of an encounter at sea between a small boat carrying their team and the Russian ship, filmed off the Danish coast in November.
It shows a man, wearing a balaclava and military gear, and carrying an assault rifle, appearing on the deck of the Admiral Vladimirsky.
The ship is thought to have entered the Moray Firth on November 10 last year.
Niels Fastrup from Danish broadcaster DR spoke to STV about the investigation.
“It seems to have been loitering for a few days in the Moray Firth area," Mr Fastrup said.
“According to the source we’ve been talking to, and we gave them a look into our data, what they believe is, it is investigating some of the offshore windfarms in Scottish waters.
“The next time it stopped was at the Seagreen windfarm outside of Aberdeen.
“According to our experts and intelligence sources we’ve been talking to, the purpose of that stop was also to investigate the Seagreen windfarm 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.”
There has been an increased focus on the safety of North Sea infrastructure amid heightened tension with Russia, particularly after the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline.
The UK’s Ben Wallace spoke about the importance of protecting undersea internet cables when European defence ministers met in Edinburgh last year for a Joint Expeditionary Force summit.
He said that Norway’s oil and gas infrastructure was “particularly vulnerable” as it had become Europe’s main supplier.
The Royal Navy is buying two subsea surveillance ships that are expected to come into service this year.
“The government takes the security and resilience of our national infrastructure very seriously," a Ministry of Defence spokesman said.
“That is why we increased Royal Navy presence patrols after the Nord Stream incident and have invested £65 million ($81m) in the first of our two multi-role ocean surveillance ships.
“We continue to review all our investments and activities against the full range of threats and risks.”
Offshore Energies UK, the trade body for the sector, said the safety of their installations was a matter of continuing discussion with the Government.
"Offshore Energies UK remains engaged with relevant Government bodies, including the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, North Sea Transition Authority, Health and Safety Executive, and Police Scotland on the resilience and security of the UK energy supply," operations director Mark Wilson said.
“We also operate the OEUK security committee at which relevant government bodies provide briefings.
“The physical security of offshore and onshore energy infrastructure continues to be part of these regular engagements.”
