Russian ship loitering near transatlantic data cables chased off by Royal Navy attack helicopter — sat within three quarters of a mile of five undersea data cables, including two linking Britain to New York

A Russian cargo vessel that spent 14 hours anchored less than a mile from five transatlantic undersea data cables had to be chased out of British waters by a Royal Navy attack helicopter this week, The Telegraph reports. The incident, reported on Tuesday, is a sign of the growing importance of undersea infrastructure, which links nations and carries vast amounts of communication data, and the increased vigilance over its protection.

According to the report, a cargo vessel by the name of Sinegorsk sailed into the Bristol Channel on Tuesday night, dropping anchor at around 11 pm local time. The ship loitered until 2 pm the next day, before the Royal Navy dispatched a Wildcat helicopter from Yeovilton naval air station in Somerset. The solo chopper was enough to encourage the rogue vessel to upsticks and leave, with no reports of any damage or sabotage in its wake. The vessel's last recorded call to port was three weeks ago, at the headquarters of the Russian Navy's Northern Fleet.

The location of the vessel's overnight stop is particularly noteworthy because it's less than a mile from five undersea cables that connect Britain to Spain, Portugal, Canada, and the U.S. The latter two cables are part of the TGN Atlantic network, a 13,000 km cable system linking Britain to New York. Each of those cables has four fibre pairs, according to Submarine Cable Networks, and 64x10Gbps DWDM technology, for a total system capacity of 5.12 Tbps. It was upgraded to 40Gbps and 100G DWDM technology 13 years ago.

The other cables form part of the EXA Express linking the UK to Nova Scotia, and the VSNL Western Europe network connecting Spain and Portugal to the UK. As mentioned, the report comes at a time of heightened undersea cable awareness, following several high-profile incidents of cables being severed or deliberately sabotaged, with an incident in the Baltic Sea being the most notable in recent years.

The report follows a revelation in September, which stated that a Russian "military spy ship" had been monitored surveilling and mapping undersea cables along Europe's Atlantic coastline. That report from FT insinuated that the nefarious activity may have been related to intercepting communications from NATO allies, rather than mere sabotage.

UK shadow security minister Alicia Kearns said of this week's incident: "The movements of this Russian ship are deeply suspicious. [It is a] reminder of the persistent and pernicious threats our country faces from Putin and his allies." The UK Department for Transport said "a clear warning" was issued to Sinegorsk instructing it to leave UK waters "after it entered to undertake essential safety repairs."

The Ministry of Defence said, "We are acutely aware of the threat posed by Russia, which includes attempts to map undersea cables, networks, and pipelines belonging to both the UK and our allies, and we are tackling these threats head on," adding that the Royal Navy constantly monitors UK waters to safeguard critical infrastructure.

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