Russian research vessel begins loiter near underwater communications cable east of Gotland
As NATO Exercise Baltic Sentry conducts a weekend stand-off, Russian Navy research vessel Admiral Vladimirsky begins loiter near the C-Lion 1 communications cable, east of Gotland
Russian Navy Baltic Fleet Project 852 Akademik Krylov class expeditionary oceanographic research vessel (OIS) “Admiral Vladimirsky” departed homeport Khronstadt on 30 January 2025 and following a short shakedown period, commenced a westerly transit of the Gulf of Finland during the evening 31 January.
Admiral Vladimirsky entered the Baltic Sea during the early morning 1 February and commenced loitering in the central Baltic region, between Gotland Island and Ventspils during the early afternoon, in an area near the C-Lion1 submarine telecommunication cable connecting Finland and Germany.
The C-Lion1 cable has been damaged twice in as many months firstly on 18 November 2024 allegedly by the Chinese cargo ship Yi Peng 3 (repaired on 28 November) and latterly on 25 December allegedly by the Cook Islands registered oil tanker Eagle S which was subsequently interdicted by Finnish authorities shortly afterwards. The speed with which Eagle S was interdicted is highly likely due to improvements in communication between the Cinia Network Operations Centre and the Finnish Maritime Operations Centre drawn from lessons learned during the Yi Peng 3 incident.
Whilst Admiral Vladimirskiy is officially classified as an oceanographic research vessel she has almost certainly been refitted to conduct intelligence gathering duties and conducted at least two infrastructure surveillance missions in the North Sea and Baltic Sea in 2022 and 2023.
Of note, Admiral Vladimirskiy passed between Gotland and Ventspils, very close to today’s loiter position, on 25 December 2024, while conducting unidentified activity between Khronstadt and Baltiysk during 24 – 28 December. Whilst the C-Lion1 cable was allegedly damaged by Eagle S on that day, the voyage between Khronstadt and Baltiysk now seems somewhat suspicious and I note that a Swedish warship likely surveilled Vladimirskiy during the early afternoon 25 December.
How long Admiral Vladimirskiy will loiter east of Gotland and the nature of her tasking is not known however, with NATO Forces apparently far from the scene it seems an error of judgement not be present as one of Russia’s premier surveillance vessels loiters over the very infrastructure Baltic Sentry was meant to protect. It is certainly not consistent with SAC statement reproduced below
“Baltic Sentry will deliver focused deterrence throughout the Baltic Sea and counter destabilizing acts like those observed last month,” said U.S. Army General Christopher G. Cavoli, Supreme Allied Commander Europe. “It is indicative of the Alliance’s ability to rapidly respond to such destabilization, and shows the strength of our unity in the face of any challenge.”
James Droxford is a former Navy and Intelligence Agency signals intelligence officer and Defence Intelligence submarine desk officer/analyst. Now a civilian, he is an independent maritime intelligence producer, analyst and reporter.