By Marine Strauss
BRUSSELS, Feb 22 (Reuters) – Belgium said it was investigating the presence of a Russian “spy ship” in the North Sea, a day after neighboring Netherlands reported that Russia was targeting infrastructure in the North Sea. these waters.
The ship was detected in the Belgian North Sea around mid-November last year, Belgium’s Justice and North Sea Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne said in a statement titled “Russian spy ship in off our coasts in November”.
Although the presence of Russian ships in the North Sea is not prohibited, Belgium has indicated that it is closely monitoring the situation in the context of the war in Ukraine.
“We don’t know the exact motives of this Russian vessel, but let’s not be naïve,” Van Quickenborne said. “Especially if it behaves suspiciously near our wind farms, undersea gas and data cables and other critical infrastructure.”
The Dutch military intelligence agency said on Monday it detected a Russian vessel at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea as it attempted to map energy infrastructure. The Dutch Navy and Coastguard escorted the vessel out of the area.
Since the beginning of the year, the Belgian law on maritime safety has come into force, which allows, among other things, camera surveillance at sea, with mobile cameras on drones or ships. The Belgian government indicates that it will use this measure to monitor the wind turbines and that it will take the necessary measures.
Moscow did not comment on reports from the Netherlands and Belgium about the vessel.
(Reporting by Marine Strauss; edited in Spanish by Darío Fernández)