The article was updated on 8 October at 9:20 am with a response from the Defence Command.
On Sunday, the Russian military tug SB-123 sailed through Danish waters – closely guarded by the Danish Navy’s patrol vessel P523 Najaden, which followed the Russian ship’s movements under the cover of evening and night.
This is according to AIS position data reviewed by Danwatch.
For more than seven hours, the Russian SB-123 sailed in the waters off Grenaa before heading towards the Great Belt, where the Danish P523 Najaden again followed.
But another Russian ship appeared on the Great Belt Bridge’s surveillance cameras when SB-123 and P523 Naiad sailed under the bridge at noon on Monday. The rarely seen Russian spy ship Chusovoy, which belongs to Putin’s Northern Fleet and is allegedly specialised in intercepting signals from Western submarines.
On Monday at noon, the Russian spy ship sailed under the Great Belt Bridge (from the right side of the screen). Shortly afterwards, the Danish patrol ship “Najaden” catches up and overtakes it, and immediately afterwards docks in Korsør. Video: Great Belt Bridge webcam, edited by Danwatch
Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen, a naval analyst at Nordic Defense Analysis and former Navy Commander, points out to Danwatch that the ships’ position data does not provide a complete picture of their activities in Danish waters.
Nevertheless, he points to underwater cabling near Anholt Offshore Wind Farm close to Grenaa as something that could have attracted Russian interest.
“SB-123 may have travelled over several cable routes off the offshore wind farm near Grenaa. If it did, and if Chusovoy was in the vicinity at the same time, there is a likelihood that something happened. But it could also have been a transit passage, where they simply sail through Danish waters,” he tells Danwatch.
SB-123 has previously been revealed to have operated near the Nord Stream gas pipelines 4-5 days before the pipeline explosions on 26 September 2022, as previously reported by DR, among others.
Chusovoy has previously been mentioned by the open source company Janes when it sailed under the Great Belt Bridge in May, heading towards the Russian naval base Kronstadt. Allegedly to undergo repairs or train with Russian submarines, according to Janes. It is also reported that the ship is equipped with high-tech anti-submarine warfare equipment.
For the same reason, Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen finds it quite natural that the Russian military ships attracted the interest of the Danish Navy.
“If you just look at what the two ships can do, you can link it to underwater operations. Chusovoy can launch both mini-submarines and sonars – and there is no doubt that it is an intelligence ship that can do a lot of things,” he says.
“But the constellation of the two ships – and if the SB-123 has sailed all the way from Kaliningrad and met it (Chusovoy, ed.) – may indicate that something is going on. It cannot be ruled out. Based on experience from when exactly this combination of ships sail together, there may be very good reason to keep an eye on them,” he tells Danwatch.
AIS location data also shows that after crossing the Great Belt, Chusovoy and SB-123 were again joined by P523 Najaden after the ship briefly sailed into port at the naval station in Korsør.
Danwatch has sent a series of questions to the Danish Defence Command about the ships’ movements in Danish waters. In a written response, however, the Defence Command will only confirm that they have kept an eye on the spy ship Chusovoy GS-31.
“The Danish Defence routinely monitors Danish waters and is aware of foreign state vessels with ships and other sensors, including the GS-31.”
“The Danish Defence does not wish to comment on our routines and surveillance patterns, and does not wish to contribute to speculation about the cause of state ships passing through Danish straits.”
