On Wednesday morning, the Russian vessel Akademik B. Petrov passed the Gjøa field in the North Sea. Gjøa is operated by Neptune Energy. – We can confirm that a Russian ship passed the Gjøa platform on Wednesday morning on its way south. It passed about four nautical miles from the platform. Now it’s further south, says communications manager Liv Jannie Omdal. Researcher and lecturer Ståle Ulriksen at the Norwegian Naval Academy describes Akademik B. Petrov as a relatively large vessel that may resemble an old-fashioned passenger ship. – It is registered as a research ship, but it functions as a spy ship. It must keep track of what we are doing, says Ulriksen. Here is the route for Akademik B. Petrov in the period 27 September to 5 October. Following what is a possible sabotage of the gas pipeline Nord Stream 1 and 2, the security level has been raised. Among other things, armed soldiers from the Home Guard now stand guard at a number of Norwegian land plants. The Home Guard moved into Kårstø in Tysvær in Rogaland on Monday. They will assist the police in keeping watch on the facility. Photo: Marthe Synnøve Susort Johannessen / news Lots of advanced equipment on board Ulriksen says it is quite common to observe such Russian ships in Norwegian waters. – Many Russian vessels are called something like “Akademik” or “Mekanik”. They rush up and down the coast here all the time, and often lay down outside important facilities and bases. Akademik B. Petrov has more antennas than normal ships, it seems to have a large sensor capacity. The ship has winches that can put things into the water. It therefore has equipment that makes it well suited to carry out missions other than pure research, he says. Ståle Ulriksen researches and teaches at the Naval Academy. Photo: Naval Academy A survey carried out by Aftenposten shows that nine Russian vessels registered as research vessels have made pilgrimages to the Baltic Sea and the North Sea since June. According to Dagbladet, the Norwegian authorities have given Russia permission to carry out a research expedition on the Norwegian continental shelf. The permit was granted to the ship Akademik Sergey Vavilov, and will be valid until 22 October. Ina Holst Pedersen Kvam is a researcher at the Norwegian Naval Academy. Photo: Norwegian Defense University Ina Holst Pedersen Kvam is a researcher at the Section for Naval Power and Leadership at the Norwegian Naval Academy. She says Akademik B. Petrov was on a research trip outside Kaliningrad in June. – In the same month, Russia’s temporary “maintenance” of Nord Stream began, with shutdowns that lasted longer and longer. In the context of later explosions that must have been staged, it is a coincidence that does not inspire confidence, she says. Continuously follows the activity The Ministry of Defense will not specifically comment on Akademik B. Petrov and the activity, but says they are following it. – The intelligence and security services work in a coordinated manner and continuously monitor the activity of Russian vessels along the Norwegian coast in order to uncover and prevent security-threatening activity, writes press officer Aleksander Engborg Hage in an e-mail to news. The ship has also passed the Åsgård field in the Norwegian Sea. Equinor operates Åsgård. Information director Sissel Rinde says the company does not comment on individual observations. – This is for security reasons. But we have a good dialogue with the police and the Petroleum Safety Authority, and report to them if we see something unregulated, she says. Sissel Rinde is information director at Equinor. Photo: EQUINOR There is a safety zone around Norwegian oil and gas fields, usually 500 metres. It is not unusual for, for example, a fishing boat to end up near the zone, and then Equinor will contact the crew and ask them to leave the safety zone. – On a general basis, we can say that we are concerned that ships should not go inside the safety zone, says Rinde. Doubts that it will be used in attacks. Ståle Ulriksen believes it is likely that the ship follows what Norwegian and British ships are doing. Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre has agreed to a foreign presence on the Norwegian continental shelf. – The ship can measure and register the kind of sensors, drones and other equipment we use when protecting the oil and gas installations. Now this is a high-profile ship that has received a lot of attention both on Twitter and in the media. So I doubt it will be used in an attack. The ship knows we see it, says Ulriksen. Although Ulriksen believes the Akademik B. Petrov is a spy ship, he believes it is not a military vessel. – A military vessel will do other tasks. But the Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters keep a close eye on this ship. Norway has full sovereignty within what are called the territorial borders. They are located 12 nautical miles outside the baselines at all of Norway’s land areas and islands, according to the Mapping Authority (external link). Taking the situation very seriously At Gjøa, production has gone on as normal. The Russian ship has not been within the safety zone. – Ship traffic is continuously monitored by the authorities. Neptune also has an agreement with Equinor Marine, which monitors all ship traffic near our facilities. As a company, we also monitor the safety zone around the platform and the seabed facilities we have in the area. We feel well equipped to know what is going on around Gjøa, says communications manager Omdal. The Gjøa platform in the North Sea. Photo: Neptun Energy Gjøa is situated in such a way that international ships regularly pass around the platform, including Russian ones. – For us, this was not particularly sensational. Having said that, we are confident that the measures that the authorities and industry have put in place to raise preparedness are working as they should. We have implemented our own measures to ensure preparedness locally. So we take the situation very seriously, says Omdal. She confirms that other Russian ships have also passed Gjøa, at roughly the same distance. The ships have only passed, not stayed. Prime Minister Støre tells Aftenposten that they are following the ships, but will not comment further on the matter.
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The defense follows Russian vessels along the Norwegian coast – news Rogaland – Local news, TV and radio
