Five Russian Vessels Monitored East Of Iceland

Last night, RÚV reported that the Icelandic Coast Guard monitored five Russian fishing vessels east of Iceland. The Coast Guard says there is no indication that the ships are doing anything other than fishing, but it is closely monitoring the area.

The five vessels were fishing just outside Iceland’s territorial waters.

Ásgeir Erlendsson, spokesperson for the Coast Guard, told RÚV that the ships were at some distance from the FARICE-1 submarine cable, which connects Iceland to the rest of the world.

The Coast Guard will continue to closely monitor the area, using both remote surveillance and on-site observation. The ships are now within Faroese waters.

“According to our assessment, all indications are that these are fishing vessels. Our communications with neighbouring countries support this assessment, and the ships are on what is known as a trawling trip,” said Ásgeir.

“The Coast Guard has observed foreign fishing vessels targeting areas adjacent to Icelandic waters, and we must ensure these ships remain outside our territorial waters. So far, this has been the case. The Coast Guard will therefore continue monitoring this area as well as others, using both remote surveillance and patrols by ships and aircraft.”

In 2023, the Grapevine ran a cover story on what would happen if our submarine cables went bust. You can read it here.