A Russian naval support ship was reported near UK offshore wind farm areas and subsea infrastructure at the eastern entrance to the English Channel, according to iPaper, which cited a NATO source.

The report said the vessel was operating about 50 km off Colchester. By the afternoon of 14 April, it had left the area and moved away from the Channel.

The ship was identified as PM-82, an Amur-class repair vessel used to support the maintenance of ships and submarines. Its presence was reported only days after the UK government disclosed recent Russian naval activity in and around British waters.

According to earlier reporting referenced in the source text, the UK Ministry of Defence said it had tracked a Russian attack submarine near UK waters. The ministry concluded that the submarine had served as a distraction while vessels linked to Russia’s Main Directorate of Deep Sea Research, or GUGI, were engaged in suspicious activity around critical undersea infrastructure elsewhere.

On 9 April, the UK government said the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, working with allied partners, tracked the Russian vessels until they left UK waters and returned to Russia.

The latest sighting adds to broader concerns over the security of offshore energy assets in the North Sea and nearby waters. NATO and national defence authorities had already warned in previous years that Russia was monitoring offshore installations and could present a risk to subsea energy infrastructure used by North Sea states.

Source: iPaper