
The Irish Navy said it escorted a Russian spy ship out of its exclusive economic zone (EEZ), an area critical for energy and submarine pipelines and cables, on Friday (Nov 15). The spy ship was earlier spotted by Norwegian, United States, French and British navy and air defence services on Thursday (Nov 14) east of Dublin and southwest of the Isle of Man as it was accompanying Russian warship Admiral Golovko.
The Irish Navy’s LÉ James Joyce ship reportedly forced the Russian spy ship out and continued to monitor it as it headed south.
Notably, there are lots of submarine internet cables that run between Ireland and the United Kingdom and are operated by tech companies like Google and Microsoft. Both tech majors have their headquarters in Ireland.
Earlier on Thursday, British defence forces had observed another Russian vessel near their eastern coastal waters. The ship was faring closer to the west of Cork, where there is another set of connectors between Ireland and France.
Experts believe the situation is alarming, one that requires Ireland to ramp up its defence capabilities. “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,” said Edward Burke, an assistant professor in the history of war at University College Dublin, while talking to Examiner.
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The Irish Navy has claimed the Russian spy ship was conducting surveillance in its waters using drones.
The countries are alarmed following the alleged sabotage of the Baltic gas pipeline and undersea internet cables between Finland and Estonia earlier this year. Later China acknowledged a Hong Kong ship was responsible for the damage but claimed it was purely accidental.
(With inputs from agencies)