If you have a tip, we'd love to hear from you.
Updated 30/9 with a press release from Oslo Bulk.
When Copenhagen Airport was shut down by two to three large drones on Monday evening, the Norwegian cargo ship Oslo Carrier 3 was located a short distance away.
The ship is owned by Bulkship Management, which is part of a larger, international Norwegian company called Oslo Bulk. This is stated on the company’s website.
What is not mentioned is that they also have a branch in the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. Until 2022, the Russian branch also had its own website, but after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Russian website was first converted into a porn site and then shut down completely.
However, at least one key person from the Russian branch in Kaliningrad is still part of the now seemingly a purely Norwegian company.
The director of Bulkship Management in Kaliningrad is a Russian citizen who still lives in Kaliningrad and has been part of the company for 19 years. Although the Russian website no longer exists, his email address appears on Bulkship’s Norwegian website, where he is described as responsible for recruitment. His name is not mentioned anywhere on the website, but Danwatch is aware of his identity.
The Russian director’s LinkedIn profile also shows a direct relationship with the owner of Russia’s oldest paramilitary group, RSB Group. The owner has been personally sanctioned by the US for being close to the Russian intelligence service FSB, and Danwatch’s research shows that the owner has also previously worked for the FSB.
On LinkedIn in 2015, the owner of RSB Group wrote very warmly about Bulkship Management and the Russian director, with whom he had collaborated for at least three years. He had high praise for the Norwegian company’s Russian manager:
“He manages a large fleet. His vessels sail the world’s oceans. If you need professional help, seek his assistance; he never makes mistakes! He is a unique individual,” it states.
Danwatch has contacted Bulkship Management’s CEO and CFO to inquire about the relationship but they have not responded to our inquiry.
We have also asked them about Oslo Carrier 3’s activities over the past year, during which the ship has been in the vicinity of no less than three suspicious and hybrid incidents.
First, the possible sabotage of the cargo ship Ursa Major in December 2024. Then a drone incident in Køge Bay in January 2025, according to Berlingske, and now the hybrid attack at Copenhagen Airport.
Heavily Sanctioned throughout the West
The RSB Group is sanctioned in the US, EU, and the UK. According to the Americans, the group has close ties to Russia’s intelligence service, the FSB:
“RSB-Group is a private military company with close ties to Russian intelligence services. RSB employs highly qualified Russian special forces soldiers, including veterans from the Russian intelligence service. RSB has provided global services to Russian companies in close cooperation with the FSB,” the US authorities assessed back in 2022.
Images shared by RSB Group show several uniformed individuals with the paramilitary group’s emblem on their shoulders, armed on board at least one of Oslo Bulk’s ships.
The images are from a collaboration around 2014, but the exact role played by RSB Group is unknown.
In an interview from 2018, the director of RSB Group emphasizes the close ties to the Russian state. When directly asked if paramilitary groups such as his should be considered “a tool to protect Russia’s national interests and a supplement to Russia’s military,” he responds:
“Yes. Absolutely. A private military company is a surgical instrument that must be used precisely and accurately.”
Quite A Capable Actor, Expert Says
When talking about paramilitary groups in Russia, RSB Group is the oldest of them all. It was founded over 20 years ago and has over the years developed closer and closer ties to the Kremlin.
Karen Philippa Larsen from the Danish Institute for International Studies has written a PhD thesis on Russia’s paramilitary groups, and she explains how they no longer do anything without the Kremlin knowing what’s going on.
During the war in Ukraine, several paramilitary groups, so-called PMCs, have been deployed alongside the Russian army, but this has also meant that the Russian government has gained far more direct power over the groups, she explains.
“You don’t operate as a Russian private military company without the state being aware of it. Nor without some form of coordination with the state security apparatus,” she says.
The Russian connections make Oslo Carrier 3 appear as a very suspicious ship, according to naval captain and defense analyst Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen. He compares the ship to the Russian dark fleet, which is known for being shrouded in mystery and false information.
“It shows that we are now seeing a shift in the use of these types of shipping companies and flag states that they (Russia, ed.) have begun to use. Previously, the dark fleet primarily flew ‘flags of convenience,’ but now we are seeing more reputable flag states being used as a cover,” he says.
He therefore does not believe that it can be ruled out that the RSB Group could be behind the drone attack in Copenhagen. But there is still a lack of a “smoking gun,” he says.
Regardless, it is “remarkable” that Oslo Bulk and RSB Group have a connection to each other, Karen Philippa Larsen assesses. Especially in light of the fact that Oslo Carrier 3 was present at the explosion of Ursa Major, the drone incident in Køge Bay, and the drone attack in Copenhagen.
“This is definitely something the authorities should investigate further. If it’s true that the ship has been systematically involved in these events, as you say, then I definitely think it should be investigated. It’s a red flag,” she says.
If the RSB Group has been involved, is it a “capable actor”?
“RSB has a long history of performing security tasks for Russian companies globally. They operate in close symbiosis with the security service, so they can probably get the equipment they need. So I would say it’s quite a capable actor.”
Previously Linked to Sabotage
A few days before the drone incident in Copenhagen, Oslo Carrier 3 was inspected by German authorities.
According to Danwatch’s information, Oslo Carrier 3 sailed into Nordenham in northwestern Germany, where authorities boarded on September 17 and met 11 Russians on the ship out of a total crew of 13 sailors.
The authorities conducted a light inspection and did not search for any drone equipment.
The ship has previously been in the media and authorities’ spotlight, as it has been linked to a possible sabotage operation against a Russian cargo ship, Ursa Major, back in December 2024.
Data from MarineTraffic shows that Oslo Carrier 3 was indeed right next to Ursa Major at the exact time when Ursa Major exploded, and the Norwegian ship was accused by Ursa Major’s Russian owners of refusing to help the crew of the damaged ship.
The owner of Ursa Major later said that the ship had been subjected to a “terrorist attack” and that three external explosions caused it to sink. What actually happened has not yet been revealed.
Bulkship Management has denied refusing to help the Ursa Major’s crew in a press release on their website. In another statement, the company has also denied involvement in the drone incident in Copenhagen.
These are the only two press releases on their website.
At the time of writing, Bulkship Management’s contact information page is down.
The ship Oslo Carrier 3 is currently docked in the port of Klaipeda, Lithuania, and according to Bulkship Management’s press release, it has been inspected by Lithuanian authorities. Nothing suspicious was found, the company writes.
After publication of this article, Oslo Bulk has released a statement confirming that the company have previously worked with RSB Group.
“We can confirm that we used the service of this group in 2012-16 to provide armed guards on a few vessels passing the Gulf of Aden to avoid Somalia piracy. This company was approved by both the Flag state and our Insurance company Gard. We have not used this company since 2016”, the statement reads.
