Russian spy trawlers target Britain’s vital undersea cable network: Report
- Russian trawlers have consistently tracked undersea cables over the past four and a half years, according to data from Global Fishing Watch
By Burak Bir
LONDON (AA) - Russia has been using fishing trawlers to track and spy on Britain's critical network of undersea cables, according to a report Thursday.
More than 500 incidents were identified in which Russian trawlers were found to have operated above vital communications cables linking Britain with Europe and the US, said The Telegraph.
Data obtained from Global Fishing Watch, a vessel tracking platform, showed the Russian trawlers consistently tracking cables over a period of four and a half years.
"We’re absolutely aware of what Russian civilian fishing ships are up to and where ... Some of these ships have never seen a single fish on their deck," a NATO source told the British daily.
In September, a joint operation by the UK, Norway and the US tracked and intercepted Russian submersibles from Moscow’s Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research (GUGI) as they trained to deploy a secret anti-cable weapon near the Arctic's Svalbard archipelago.
Speaking at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in May, former digital economy minister Liz Lloyd said “the UK already has strong protections in place for our subsea cables. But in a more uncertain world, we cannot stand still.
A Defense Ministry spokesperson said it is "clear-eyed" about the threat Russia poses.
A spokesperson for British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said that "working with our NATO allies, we are strengthening our defense capabilities, and we stand ready to defend every inch of NATO territory."
A White Paper published Thursday by the UK government set out proposals to modernize legislation dating back 140 years to give the UK stronger tools to protect its critical undersea infrastructure, including tougher penalties and new requirements on the telecoms industry.
The chairman of the UK House of Commons Defense Select Committee, Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, warned that failing to defend the High North could leave underwater cables and pipelines carrying key data and energy to the UK exposed.
"This is exactly why the committee also found that we need to invest in our frigates, in our destroyers, as well as our submarines, because of the increased prevalence of Russian spy ships and submarines," he told LBC News.