Russian ship off the coast of England. 14 hours on key cables

The Russian ship stood with its anchor lowered for more than 14 hours in the waters of the Bristol Channel, just 3 km from the British mainland, close to where important underwater telecommunications cables pass, British media reported on Thursday.

The Russian-flagged bulk carrier Sinegorsk, which left the port of Arkhangelsk three weeks ago, entered the Bristol Channel on Tuesday evening and around On the 23rd of that day, he dropped anchor approximately 3 km from the town of Minehead in southwestern England.

Telecommunications cables run near its mooring, connecting Great Britain with the USA, Canada, Spain and Portugal. On Wednesday morning, a border guard patrol plane was sent to monitor Sinegorsk's movements, after which the mission was taken over by a navy helicopter, and the British Ministry of Transport ordered the Russian unit to leave territorial waters. Sinegorsk departed the Bristol Channel at approximately 14 on Wednesday.

The UK Defense Journal was the first to report on Sinegorsk's presence in the waters of the Bristol Channel, and details about its route, the British units tracking it and the cables passing there were provided by the Daily Telegraph.

As the UK Defense Journal recalled, as part of the sanctions imposed by the British government after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, ships flying the Russian flag are prohibited from entering British ports. This does not amount to a complete ban on entering territorial waters, i.e. Russian ships can still pass through UK territorial waters, provided they comply with maritime law and any guidelines issued by the authorities.

Sinegorsk does not belong to the so-called shadow fleet, i.e. tankers that Russia uses to bypass the sanctions imposed on it. (PAP)

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