The U.S. Coast Guard detected a Russian military ship about 15 nautical miles south of Oahu on 29 October. A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft and the cutter William Hart (WPC 1134) were sent to the area and flew over and sailed near the vessel. The ship was identified as the Russian Navy’s Kareliya, a Vishnya-class intelligence-gathering vessel.

Coast Guard crews monitored the ship in line with international law to keep nearby U.S. vessels safe and to support homeland defense. Capt. Matthew Chong of the Coast Guard Oceania District said the service regularly watches ship activity around the Hawaiian Islands and across the Pacific, working with partners and allies when foreign military vessels come close to U.S. territorial waters.

The Oceania District also works with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and other agencies to track foreign military ships near U.S. territorial seas, including the waters around Guam and American Samoa. Under customary international law, foreign military vessels may pass and operate outside another country’s territorial sea, which extends 12 nautical miles from shore.