For six months, Norwegian security officials have been following the movements of the Russian research vessel Akademik Lazarev. Now they are alerting about more units.
- I want them to be called spy ships. This is what the researcher and teacher Ståle Ulriksen at Norwegian Defense College / Naval War College in Dagens Næringsliv says.
According to the scientist, both the Akademik and the Mechanic class units act as research ships for the benefit of the Russian state.
- There are civilian research vessels used for military purposes. Everything the state needs. There are no good reasons for mapping Norway's submarine infrastructure if you're not going to do anything about it. They are involved in classic hotspot mapping and industrial espionage, he says.
Norwegian and foreign entrepreneurs in the oil and gas industry are now sounding the alarm
The Norwegian Business Safety Council has long received several similar disturbing reports. Norwegian and foreign entrepreneurs in the oil and gas industry are now sounding the alarm after noticing that Russian research vessels seem to be systematically mapping pipelines on the Norwegian shelf.
The Intelligence Service and the Police Security Service have long been warning about the activities of foreign intelligence
– In its open threat assessments, the Service The Intelligence Service and the Police Security Service have been warning about the activity for a long time foreign intelligence directed against Norwegian business and industry. In practice, we see that this affects Norwegian companies on a regular basis, says Security Council director Odin Johannessen.
Russia's activity along the Norwegian coast. Probably intelligence activity
In threat assessments, underwater technology in particular is of interest to foreign intelligence agencies. The reason is that it can have a military multi-purpose capability.
– One company has notified us that it is exposed to what appears to be targeted and broad-based intelligence activity. The company develops and operates advanced underwater technology for the offshore industry. These companies' computer systems are vulnerable to digital attacks. Their technicians are being recruited, and unauthorized ships are monitoring their operations, Johannessen says.
I want them to be called spy ships, says Ståle Ulriksen
A company that carries out work for the oil and gas industry has seen an increase in attention around the company in recent months.
- We can see that our domain is being searched. They started right after September. Only since last night and until today at 9:16 am we had approximately 000 submissions for the project. They are looking for ships, their technicians and staff involved in the project, down to the lowest level.
- This is the weakest link. They are trying to find names and trying to get into their networks, the newspaper source reports.
The seabed has been mapped. Russia wants to learn as much as possible about the Norwegian coast
Akademik Lazarev has been navigating Norwegian waters for over ten years. The ship is owned by the marine physics company Jsc Sevmorneftegeofizika, a subsidiary of the Russian geology company Rosgeo .
The company reports that in recent months the ship has collected 8 km of geophysical data from the seabed in the North Sea and conducted seismic surveys in the waters of Great Britain, Norway and Denmark. The ship also had a towed sonar, which is needed to obtain an image of the seabed.
Russia's activity along the Norwegian coast
- It is in Russia's interest to learn as much as possible about the Norwegian coast in order to be able to use it militarily. Also, if necessary, conduct operations against the Norwegian coast, says Ulriksen.
The newspaper asked for a comment from Rosgeo, and received no reply.
Photo: Heiko Junge / NTB
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