Russia Using Oligarchs’ Yachts, Spy Devices for Naval Espionage: Report

Superyachts owned by Russian oligarchs have carried out reconnaissance missions on behalf of the Kremlin, marking part of a broader surveillance effort by Russia to gather intelligence on the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent and critical undersea infrastructure, a new report claims.

Why It Matters

The U.K. and the U.S. are members of a multinational task force designed to put “unprecedented pressure on sanctioned Russians” in the wake of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Western supporters of Ukraine have frozen roughly $300 billion in Russian Central Bank assets, as well as seizing and detaining yachts owned by Russian citizens under sanctions. Russian oligarchs are typically closely connected to the Kremlin.

Russia has a highly sophisticated underwater fleet, kitted out with advanced submarines and autonomous vehicles gliding far beneath the waves. Moscow is particularly adept at what is known as hybrid warfare, a raft of tactics that can include targeting vital cables snaking along the seabed.

What To Know

Britain’s The Sunday Times reported over the weekend that before Russia invaded Ukraine more than three years ago, there was “credible intelligence” that oligarch-owned superyachts had been used by the Kremlin’s forces to carry out underwater reconnaissance close to the U.K. The newspaper cited three anonymous senior defense sources.

A number of the superyachts were fitted with “moon pools,” or protected openings in the hull of a ship used to access water under the ship, according to the report. Moon pools can be used to deploy equipment for deep-sea reconnaissance.

One unnamed former minister told the newspaper that in 2018, the Royal Navy’s HMS Albion amphibious warship left port in Cyprus early after an oligarch-owned superyacht arrived alongside the military vessel.

The Albion “moved on quite quickly,” according to the report. Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.

A British Defense Ministry spokesperson said in a statement: “Alongside our NATO and Joint Expeditionary Force allies, we are strengthening our response to ensure that Russian ships and aircraft cannot operate in secrecy near the UK or near NATO territory, harnessing new technologies like AI [artificial intelligence] and coordinating patrols with our allies.”

The Joint Expeditionary Force, or JEF, is led by the U.K. but involves several northern European nations, and is designed to quickly respond to crises. NATO has also said it is using AI to “detect and minimize threats to undersea infrastructure.”

“We are committed to enhancing the security of critical offshore infrastructure,” the MoD spokesperson said.

The Times also reported that the British military had located Russian sensors in the waters around the U.K., believed to be tasked with collecting intelligence on the U.K.’s nuclear submarine fleet.

The U.K. has what is known as its continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent. Four of its Vanguard submarines take turns in being constantly deployed around the U.K., unseen but armed with nuclear missiles.

The U.K. is expected to replace its Vanguard fleet with its Dreadnought-class subs within the next decade.

“Our continuous-at-sea nuclear deterrent continues to patrol the world’s oceans undetected as it has done for 56 years,” the British Defense Ministry spokesperson said.

Some of the sensors had washed up onto the country’s shorelines, while many were spotted by the navy’s minehunter vessels, according to the report.

Russian uncrewed vehicles were separately found close to vital infrastructure, such as communications cables stretching along the sea bed, the Times reported.

NATO has increasingly rang alarm bells over Russia’s skill in hybrid warfare tactics, including sabotage of critical infrastructure like pipelines and cables.

British Defense Secretary, John Healey, said in January after a Russian spy ship was located in British waters that Moscow was using the vessel to map out the country’s critical underwater infrastructure.

The ship, the Yantar, was also spotted in November. Naval and air assets were quickly deployed to shadow the ship, Healey told U.K. lawmakers in January.

In a message directed at Russian President Vladimir Putin, Healey said: “We see you. We know what you are doing. And we will not shy away from robust action to protect this country.”

NATO has also launched fresh efforts to shield undersea cables in the Baltic Sea, an area dominated by alliance members surrounding the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. At least 11 cables were damaged in the Baltic Sea within 15 months, the alliance heavily suspicious of Russian influence.

The MoD spokesperson pointed to the U.K.’s commitment to plug an extra £5 billion, or $6.4 billion, into the defense budget in 2025, and raise defense spending to hit 2.5 percent of the U.K.’s GDP by 2027.

What People Are Saying

British Defense Secretary, John Healey, said in January after the Yantar was detected for a second time in a handful of months: “This is yet another example growing Russian aggression, targeting our allies abroad and us at home.”

What Happens Next

The upcoming review of the U.K.’s armed forces, which Healey commissioned last year, will likely push for more attention on underwater infrastructure, the Times reported.