A Spy Ship Has Been Caught Off Hawaii’s Coast And It Is NOT American..
A Russian spy ship has been spotted near Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean, with some linking its presence to a possible US missile defense test.
The vessel has been prowling for several weeks, according to a Coast Guard press release.
“The U.S. Coast Guard is currently monitoring the Russian vessel operating in the vicinity of Hawaii,” Cmdr. Dave Milne, chief of External Affairs, said in last week’s release. “As part of our daily operations, we track all vessels in the Pacific area through surface and air assets and joint agency capabilities.
“The Coast Guard operates in accordance with international laws of the sea to ensure all nations can do the same without fear or contest. This is especially critical to secure freedom of movement and navigation throughout the Blue Pacific.”
The ship is the Kareliya, which is traveling with a supply ship, according to Popular Mechanics. The outlet speculated that the ship’s mission could be to gather intelligence on the US military’s missile defense system, noting that a missile defense test occurred at the same time the ship was off the coast of Hawaii in 2021.
The Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands is located on the Hawaiian island of Kauai, where previous missile defense tests have taken place.
“We believe it’s an intelligence collection vessel. And so far we have not witnessed any aggressive posture or any movements that are outside the norms of international maritime norms, international law,” Milne told KHON-TV.
Russian intelligence ship KARELIYA SSV535 continues to operate near Hawaii. The Project 864 Vishnaya-class AGI is seen in this 11 Jan US Coast Guard video being refueled from a Russian ship via the astern method. Ship has often been seen in Hawaiian waters monitoring US movements pic.twitter.com/UlM8pTwyeb
— Chris Cavas (@CavasShips) January 19, 2023
He claims that the Russian ship has previously cruised the waters around Hawaii.
The ship “would have an array of antennae and everything else that was up there that they’d be listening to our communications, civilian and military,” retired Marine Corps intelligence officer Hal Kempfer told KHON.
He speculated that the attraction could be underwater cables.
The Department of Homeland Security prevented a breach of undersea cables serving Oahu last year, which would have disrupted communications on the island, according to KHON.
“Globally, about 99 percent of all digital information is transferred to underwater cables, fiber optic cables,” Kempfer said. “If you ever look at a map, you see just a huge amount of lines going into Hawaii with all the different fiber optic cables. And what I would point out is the Russians have a track record of doing this.”
In recent weeks, the @USCG has continued to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands.⁰
Full story: https://t.co/yEy7JbYMQL pic.twitter.com/fEdiQPRMpS
— USCG Hawaii Pacific (@USCGHawaiiPac) January 19, 2023
According to Popular Mechanics, the Coast Guard posted a video of the spy ship that shows its support vessel, the Pechenga, and then the Vladivostok-based Kareliya.
According to the report, the ship is armed with two AK-630 close-in weapon system Gatling-type guns and two SA-N-8 surface-to-air missile launchers.
According to KNTV-TV, Pentagon representative Sabrina Singh did not speculate on why the Russians were snooping.
“I can’t speak to why the Russians are sailing the ship right now; it’s kind of precarious timing,” she said, adding that the ship had not violated any laws or acceptable behavior.