Belgium investigates the presence of a Russian spy ship in the North Sea

Belgium is afraid. Our Kevren neighbors have begun investigating a Russian “spy ship” seen in November in areas with wind farms, underwater gas pipelines and communications cables, North Sea Minister Vincent Van Kuickenborn said Tuesday.

“We don’t know the exact motives of this Russian ship, but let’s not be naive. Especially if he behaves suspiciously near our wind farms, underwater gas pipelines and data cables and other critical infrastructure,” the minister said in a statement. “We are taking the necessary measures to better protect them,” he said.

Suspicious ship behavior

“The passage of this ship is undoubtedly part of the larger context of the war in Ukraine,” he said. “Given the suspicious behavior of a ship that was sailing without AIS (Automatic Identification System), a mandatory security system that automatically detects the identification of ships, the Maritime Information Center launched an investigation,” the minister said.

The vessel has already been sighted in Dutch waters, the Netherlands Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) said on Monday. NATO and the EU announced on January 11 that they would form a joint working group to strengthen the defense of their core infrastructures in Europe against threats from Russia.

This initiative follows the sabotage of the Nord Stream subsea gas pipelines last year and is an illustration of the strengthening of cooperation between the two organizations in response to the consequences of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.