The Russian vessel, assigned to the Baltic Fleet, is mapping offshore cables and gas pipelines in the waters around the Scandinavian countries and Finland. The data could be used in the event of a war between Russia and NATO, warn investigative journalists in the Shadow War documentary produced by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden.
The journalists managed to get access to the radio interception of the Russian oceanographic vessel "Admiral Vladimirsky" and draw up a map of its campaigns based on the messages sent from it. As a result, the journalists came to the conclusion that the ship was mapping wind farms, gas pipelines, power and Internet cables in the Baltic and North Seas.
A textual retelling of the film is available on the DR.DK (Danish Public Radio and Television) website:
“Officially, Admiral Vladimirsky is engaged in maritime research, but, according to DR sources, it is also used for intelligence work.
Last November , a 147 - meter long ship sailed around the Kattegat without reporting its location to the outside world . But the ship was constantly sending radio messages to the naval base in Russia with its positions.
Based on the intercepted radio message, DR was able to locate a Russian warship north of the Shellands-Odde peninsula.
Journalist and photographer DR spotted the vessel and approached it in a rubber dinghy. After that, several people with covered faces came on deck, among them was a man in uniform and a bulletproof vest, armed with a Russian military rifle.”
According to experts from NATO intelligence services, Russian ships create such maps in the event of a war between the bloc and Russia. Such maps require constant updating, and their presence will allow the Russian fleet to strike at the critical infrastructure of the Nordic countries.
Journalists, based on the routes of Russian ships, found another fifty ships that could be used for such reconnaissance in the last 10 years. According to the expert, whose opinion is given by the authors of the film, there could potentially be more than a hundred such courts.
The journalists sent inquiries to the RF Ministry of Defense, as well as to several Russian embassies in different countries. Only the Russian ambassador to Norway reacted, and this is what his answer looked like:
“The work of research courts is in demand and is carried out in full accordance with international law. This work is being coordinated through diplomatic channels.”