Navy vessel escorts Russian 'subsea spy ship' out of Irish water

The Air Corps dispatched a maritime surveillance plane to monitor its movements, with sources stressing the operation was ongoing.

Concern has been expressed by military sources and security experts at the “brazenness” of the Russian vessel, which was operating in both Irish and British-controlled waters for some time.

There are a total of three gas pipelines and two electricity interconnectors between Britain and Ireland — with two of the pipelines and one of the interconnectors near where the Yantar was operating. The bulk of Ireland’s gas supplies come via the pipelines from Britain.

In addition, eight data cables connecting Ireland to Britain are also in the area patrolled by the Yantar.

The presence of the ‘subsea spy ship’ in the Irish Sea on Thursday and Friday followed its deployment over 250km off the south west coast of Cork on Monday and Tuesday, in a location with a large cluster of trans-Atlantic data cables, most going to Britain and France, but a number landing in Ireland.

The Air Corps sent a maritime surveillance aircraft to monitor its movements on Monday and Tuesday. It is understood that no asset from the Naval Service was utilised.

The Yantar was travelling with the Russia warship Admiral Golovko, which is equipped with Zircon hypersonic anti-ship missiles and a refuelling tanker.

The Defence Forces had an operation in place before the vessels headed towards the Irish EEZ and both the Naval Service and the Air Corps were understood to have shared intelligence with the British military regarding its movements. British, French, and US navy and air forces had a significant surveillance operation in place.

It is thought this included the presence of a US navy ship near the Irish EEZ.

The LÉ James Joyce was already monitoring the Yantar as it moved towards the Irish Sea. British vessels were also tracking it and noticed it spent some time around the Isle of Man.

It is understood that the Yantar entered the Irish EEZ on Thursday afternoon and switched off its AIS, or automatic identification system, which transmits its position.

But the Irish vessel was able to keep track of it and shadowed it for the duration it was in the EEZ.

It is understood they tried to hail the Yantar, but the Russian personnel did not respond. At around 3am on Friday the Yantar left the Irish EEZ and headed south.

At this stage the Air Corps took over the surveillance and dispatched its CASA C295 from Casement Aerodrome in Dublin.

Sources said the Air Corps and the Naval Service coordinated their respective roles in what is an ongoing operation.

The Yantar has been documented by both military and security services as being equipped with the technology and weapons to identify the locations of subsea cables and interfere with them.

One Irish security source said that the Yantar has “a fairly extensive suite of sensors”, but declined to comment on what specifically it had been doing.

Edward Burke, Assistant Professor in the History of War at UCD, described as “alarming” the behaviour of the Yantar.

Once again we see the Russian Navy probing the defences of Western Europe. 

It’s yet another wake-up call — one that we shouldn’t need — that Ireland needs to bolster its naval capabilities and deepen its maritime security partnerships in Europe,” he said.

In a recent paper, the Centre for Strategic and International Studies based at Georgetown University in Washington DC, said: “Yantar has been observed loitering near undersea cables with submersibles capable of cutting or tapping into these cables, signalling a clear intent to exploit these vulnerabilities in a potential conflict scenario.”