The ship moored on October 19 east of the German island of Fehmarn at the entrance to the Gulf of Lübeck, “directly in the path of the tankers.”
The publication notes that it can be seen from afar; it is anchored with a rotating radar.
The German authorities do not know why the Russian ship is there, but the ship is being monitored by the police and patrol service.
“We are monitoring the vessel very closely. He is allowed to be there because it is outside German territorial waters.”
German police spokesman Wulf Winterhoff stressed that the ship is outside German territorial waters.
The Germans have not yet encountered any threats from the Russian ship, but the Alexander Shabalin will have an impact on ships engaged in fishing and scientific research. The research vessels Alkor and Littorina had to keep a considerable distance from the Russian vessels.
Kieler Nachrichten points out that when unknown drones appeared over airports in Denmark in September, the Alexander Shabalin large landing craft was nearby. There is no concrete evidence against the Russian ship, but it is now under increased scrutiny.
In addition to the Alexander Shabalin, the Russian destroyer Vice Admiral Kulakov has already appeared in the area of Fehmarn Island eight times since May, the media notes.
October 23 reported that when the Alexander Shabalin dropped anchor near Fehmarn, it was accompanied by the German patrol ship Bamberg and a patrol boat from Denmark.
Security expert from the Institute for Political Security in Kiel, Johannes Peters, told the publication that Russia deliberately selects maritime areas near important transport routes “to demonstrate its presence there.”
According to Bild, security services believe that the Russian Federation has deployed its Alexander Shabalin as a “security anchor” for its shadow fleet to continue secretly transporting oil.
Context
The large landing ship “Alexander Shabalin” was built in Gdansk (Poland) in 1985. The length of the ship is 112 meters. For landing, it can take on board 10 tanks and 340 soldiers.
