Russian reconnaissance ship “Yantar” spotted near Europe’s undersea cables: why is it dangerous?

The Russian vessel Yantar has long been involved in underwater infrastructure surveillance operations in the waters of the UK and Northern Europe. The ship was used to identify and access critical undersea cables, and was equipped with technical means to intercept traffic and potentially damage the lines.

This is reported by the Financial Times .

Journalists analyzed satellite and radar data, open ship tracks, and other sources and concluded that the Yantar had repeatedly been delayed in areas of submarine cables — in particular, in the center of the Irish Sea and on the approaches to Spitsbergen — starting in the fall of 2023. The publication notes that on board the vessel there are hydraulic automatics with manipulators and special parachute-rope systems that allow it to work on the seabed: inspect cables, connect to them, and, if necessary, leave devices there.

Investigators also noted a concentration of Russian warships in British waters over a 13-month period, which they believe correlates with surveillance activities targeting critical infrastructure.

According to the information in the investigation excerpts, the Yantar is equipped with autonomous and remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs), manipulators for engaging and inspecting cables, as well as a set of sensors for collecting signals. This configuration allows it to perform three basic tasks:

• map the seabed in cable laying areas;
• physically connect to lines to collect traffic or metadata;
• install damaging devices.

Journalists emphasized that these capabilities make the vessel potentially suitable for both reconnaissance and subversive activities against data and communications networks.

Undersea cables are the backbone of modern digital infrastructure: a significant proportion of international internet traffic, telephone and financial flows run on fibre optic lines on the seabed. The investigation recalls that, for example, almost all of Britain’s internet traffic is laid underwater, and pipelines and some monitoring systems also depend on undersea networks. Any deliberate interference with these lines could cause large-scale disruptions to communications, hit financial transactions and pose serious risks to national security.

The investigation used satellite imagery from the European Space Agency, open AIS ship tracks, radar data and military analysts’ testimony. The combination of these sources revealed regular “hangovers” of the vessel over key sections of the network and anomalous maneuvers that were characteristic of work on the seabed, rather than normal navigation or fishing. The investigation also indicates that the “Amber” tried to disguise its activities by changing its identifiers or standing still under the pretext of technical reasons.

The expected response could include increased patrols, changes in cable routing, additional protection of landfall points, and new treaties between states on critical infrastructure protection. This also poses a challenge for governments in the field of cyber and maritime security: it is necessary not only to monitor such vessels, but also to create operational capabilities to protect cables and quickly restore them in case of damage.

At the same time, all incidents identified in the materials clearly indicate successful data interception or sabotage – additional confirmation is required at many stages. At the same time, the investigation demonstrates the possibility of carrying out such operations and that the Russian forces have both the platform and the technical base for their implementation. So far, there have been no official comments from the Russian side regarding these publications.

Let us recall that the Navy of the Russian Federation has been replenished with three new units at once – the patrol ship “Viktor Velikiy” and the small missile ships “Typhoon” and “Stavropol”. All of them were built at the Zelenodolsk Gorky Shipbuilding Plant and are intended for the Black Sea and Baltic Fleets.

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