According to Ukrinform, The Insider reports this based on information from the Starboard Maritime Intelligence service.
A Latvian Navy vessel M-04, an Imanta-class minesweeper, intercepted the Russian vessel “Nina Sokolova” this week in the international waters of the Baltic Sea.
According to vessel-tracking data, the two ships repeatedly came close to each other for several hours, and their routes crossed.
Context of the Incident and Possible Consequences
In the past, “Nina Sokolova” has appeared in areas hosting critical Baltic Sea infrastructure. For example, in October 2022 it was spotted near the coast of Denmark in the company of a Russian frigate and a corvette.
The ship is officially listed as a rescue tug, but analysts do not rule out that it could be used to survey underwater infrastructure.
Since November 2024, a number of damages to submarine cables and power lines have been recorded in the Baltic Sea. In late December, Finnish authorities detained the tanker Eagle S on suspicion of deliberately damaging the Estlink 2 cable between Finland and Estonia; earlier there had also been damage to cables between Finland and Germany, as well as between Sweden and Lithuania.
Security experts believe that Russian ships systematically map the locations of critical infrastructure on the Baltic Sea seabed. According to an international journalistic investigation, since the start of the war in Ukraine at least 72 Russian research and support vessels have made 428 suspicious voyages to areas of gas pipelines, submarine cables, and wind farms.
The current situation in the region underscores the high level of reconnaissance and monitoring of underwater objects, which again increases tensions around the Baltic Sea.