A Russian Navy intelligence-gathering ship has now left Irish-controlled waters, Tánaiste and Minister for Defence Simon Harris has said.
Speaking in Athlone on Friday, he said the Defence Forces had been monitoring the Russian vessel for 36 hours.
“Vessels of interest can, from time to time, enter Irish waters and enter more broadly, our exclusive economic zone in terms of waters. And this is, of course, a cause of concern, and that is why Ireland works closely with partners in relation to the deployment of effective resources,” he said.
“Obviously, and more rightly, the Defence Forces doesn’t comment in detail on its operations, other than for me to say that I’ve been kept appraised of operations on an ongoing basis by the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces. ”
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The Viktor Leonov, a 100m vessel from the Russian Navy’s Northern Fleet, was spotted by the Irish Naval Service earlier this week and was tracked by LÉ Samuel Beckett as it sails through the Irish Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Defence sources said the Beckett attempted to hail the Leonov and while the Russian ship has acknowledged receiving the communication, it refused to communicate further. It is believed the ship’s eventual destination is Cuba.
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.
