Russian 'spy ships' snoop on German Navy's large Arctic exercise

A large area off the coast of Norway's Andøya firing range has been sealed off for ship traffic while the German Navy holds its largest maritime firing exercise in decades.

In a two-week period, up to 54 missile launches, as well as torpedo and artillery firings, will be conducted. Nine German surface ships and a submarine are involved, along with units from the German Army and Air Force, as well as international partners.

There are not only allied ships in the area. Near the Andøya missile firing range there are also several Russian vessels that are showing a clear interest in the naval activities. 

The Akademik Boris Petrov has over the past two days zigzagged in the waters north of the exercise area. The 75-metre-long ship is registered as a research vessel operated by the Shirshov Institute of Oceanography. But the ship is known for its involvement in intelligence activities. 

When the ship sailed near Norwegian oil and gas platforms in the North Sea in 2022, researcher Ståle Ulriksen at the Norwegian Naval Academy confirmed to NRK that the ship is actually a spy vessel. 

The Akademik Boris Petrov was built in Finland in 1984. On board is a crew of 32 people and up to 24 researchers, according to a ship description.

Officially, the ship is designed for research on marine hydrophysics, as well as studies of the seabed.

In addition to the Akademik Boris Petrov, also the SMP Arkhangelsk, a Russian cargo ship, is suspiciously zigzagging outside the Andøya exercise area. The 145-metre-long ship is owned and operated by the Northern Shipping Company. Both the ship and the shipping company are on US and Ukrainian sanctions lists because of their involvement in weapons transportation and shipments of Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea.

The SMP Arkhangelsk is regularly sailing in the icy waters of the Northern Sea Route. It is also regularly making port calls in Kaliningrad, the military port on the Baltic Sea coast.