OMM Newsroom
Russian fishing trawlers have been used to track and spy on Britain’s undersea cable network, with more than 500 incidents identified in which the vessels operated above vital communications cables linking the UK with Europe and the United States, Anadolu Agency reported, citing The Telegraph.
Data from vessel-tracking platform Global Fishing Watch showed Russian trawlers repeatedly following cable routes over a period of four and a half years, the British newspaper reported.
“We’re absolutely aware of what Russian civilian fishing ships are up to and where ... Some of these ships have never seen a single fish on their deck,” a NATO source told The Telegraph.
Allied operation tracked Russian submersibles
In September, the UK, Norway and the United States carried out a joint operation to track and intercept Russian submersibles from Moscow’s Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, known as GUGI. The vessels were training to deploy a secret anti-cable weapon near the Arctic’s Svalbard archipelago.
Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute in May, former digital economy minister Liz Lloyd said: “The UK already has strong protections in place for our subsea cables. But in a more uncertain world, we cannot stand still.”
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence said the government was “clear-eyed” about the threat posed by Russia.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said: “Working with our NATO allies, we are strengthening our defence capabilities, and we stand ready to defend every inch of NATO territory.”
UK proposes tougher protections for infrastructure
A white paper published by the UK government on Thursday proposed modernising legislation dating back 140 years. The proposals aim to give the country stronger tools to protect critical undersea infrastructure, including tougher penalties and new requirements for the telecommunications industry.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, chairman of the UK House of Commons Defence Select Committee, warned that failing to defend the High North could leave underwater cables and pipelines carrying vital data and energy to the UK exposed.
“This is exactly why the committee also found that we need to invest in our frigates, in our destroyers, as well as our submarines, because of the increased prevalence of Russian spy ships and submarines,” he told LBC News.
