The US Coast Guard considers the ship an “intelligence collection ship” (Photos: AP)

A suspected Russian surveillance vessel is sighted off the coast of Hawaii.

The U.S. Coast Guard said it had been monitoring the ship, which was believed to be an intelligence-gathering vessel, in recent weeks.

A spokesperson said it is not necessarily uncommon for foreign military vessels to “pass freely through the US economic exclusion zone”.

But they went on to say they would “operate and hang out” ships in certain areas.

Tensions between Moscow and Washington are currently high due to the war in Ukraine.

But even before the war, the US was suspicious of suspected Russian spy ships on the coast.

The Coast Guard was concerned about a surveillance vessel named Viktor Leonov sighted in 2019 near South Carolina and Florida.

Please enable JavaScript to view this video and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 videos

The U.S. Coast Guard monitors ships that are “operating and loitering” (Photo: AP)

This image, taken from a video from the US Coast Guard District 14 Hawaii Pacific and dated January 2023, shows a Russian ship patrolling the coast of Hawaii. While the appearance of a Russian surveillance vessel along the US coast is not uncommon, this vessel has attracted more attention due to heightened tensions between the US and Russia over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine and veiled threats to use nuclear weapons. (U.S. Coast Guard via AP)

Apparently, it’s not necessarily uncommon for foreign military ships to “pass freely through the U.S. economic exclusion zone” (Photo: AP)

US authorities reportedly found it operating in an “unsafe manner” because it did not use light in difficult weather conditions.

It was also accused of failing to communicate with merchant ships trying to make contact to avoid collision.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy chose the US for his first known trip from his country since the war began in December.

Mr. Zelensky and Joe Biden held a joint press conference where the US president told his counterpart, “It is an honor to stand by your side in Putin’s joint defense of a ruthless, ruthless war.”

.