Belgium is investigating the presence of a Russian ship in the North Sea

After a balloon over the American continent, a Russian ship off the coast of Benelux is suspected of espionage. Belgian Minister for the North Sea, Vincent Van Quickenborne, announced on Tuesday February 21 that the country had opened an investigation into the activities of this boat spotted in November in areas where there are wind farms, underwater gas pipelines and communication cables.

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“We don’t know the exact motives of this Russian ship, but let’s not be naive. Especially if it behaves suspiciously near our wind farms, our gas pipelines and undersea data cables and other infrastructure. reviews”the minister said in a statement. “We are taking the necessary measures to better secure them”he assured.

For the minister, “The passage of this ship is undoubtedly part of the broader context of the war in Ukraine. Given the suspicious behavior of the ship, which was sailing without AIS (Automatic Identification System), a mandatory security system that automatically knows the identity of the ships, an investigation was launched by the Maritime Information Hub”said the minister.

A working group to strengthen infrastructure protection

This ship had already been spotted in Dutch waters, the Dutch military intelligence and security service said on Monday. NATO and the EU announced on January 11 the creation of a joint working group to strengthen the protection of their essential infrastructures in Europe against threats from Russia.

This initiative follows the sabotage of the Nord Stream underwater gas pipelines last year. It is intended as an illustration of the enhanced cooperation between the two organizations to respond to the consequences of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.