A Russian Navy intelligence-gathering ship is being tracked through Irish-controlled waters and is refusing to respond to communications from the Naval Service.
The Viktor Leonov, a 100m vessel from the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet, was spotted by the Irish Naval Service earlier this week. It is being tracked by LÉ Samuel Beckett as it sails through the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Defence sources said the Beckett has attempted to hail the Leonov and establish its purpose in Irish-controlled waters.
The Russian ship has acknowledged receiving the communication but has refused to communicate further. It is believed the ship’s eventual destination is Cuba.
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Government officials have been briefed on the ship’s presence. It is being monitored by an Irish Air Corps maritime patrol aircraft operating out of Casement Aerodrome in Dublin and RAF surveillance aircraft based in Lossiemouth, Scotland.
The ship is travelling through the Irish EEZ and has not entered Irish territorial waters, which extend about 12 nautical miles (22km) out to sea.
The ship is believed to be operating off the west coast. Publicly available flight tracking data shows an Air Corps maritime patrol aircraft operating in an area off the coast of Mayo on Wednesday afternoon.
It has broken no maritime laws, but previous sightings of similar naval vessels have raised concerns Russia is surveilling or mapping Irish subsea infrastructure and data cables.
The Defence Forces said it does not comment on operations.
The Leonov is one of number of Soviet-era ships in the Russian Navy specially built for intelligence gathering.
It is equipped with technology capable of intercepting radar, radio and other electronic signals and is also believed to be capable of subsea monitoring operations.
The Leonov has a long history of carrying out spying operations in British and US waters. It frequently patrols the US Atlantic Coast and has been spotted operating near major US naval bases.
In 2019, US officials complained the Leonov was acting in an unsafe manner off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia, including not responding to civilian vessels attempting to communicate their movements.
In 2020, the Leonov was tracked by a British warship as it followed a US submarine which was docking in a British port.
Russian ships have become a regular presence in the Irish EEZ in recent years. The Yantar, another intelligence-gathering ship, has been tracked operating near subsea cables in Irish-controlled waters on multiple occasions.
Most recently, it was observed by the Naval Service last November operating drones in the Irish Sea.
