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Suspicious Russian tug left Danish waters towards Murmansk
The 'Sarmat', owned by Northern Alliance LLC, a company registered in St. Petersburg, spent nearly a week operating near critical underwater cables off the Danish coast, operating between the island of Læsø and mainland Denmark from Sep 15 to 22. The tug was towing a jack-up barge fitted with three legs and an excavator – equipment designed for offshore operations and capable of working directly on the seabed. The 'Sarmat' approached the northernmost coast of the Jutland Peninsula on Sept. 12 and remained virtually stationary until Sep 15, when it began sailing along the Danish coast between the mainland and Læsø. The tug only began sailing away from the area where the cables were laid, on Sep 22, and by the Sep 24 it rounded Norway’s southern coast. As of Oct 1, the tug was moving northeast along the Norwegian coast towards the port of Murmansk. The repeated movements and the location in which they took place had make the 'Sarmat's activities particularly suspicious. When a local ferry asked the 'Sarmat' to move away from its planned route, the Russian vessel replied: “Not possible, in operation.” When asked what kind of work it was doing, it replied: “Towing.” The Danish authorities formed a local crisis management group and were prepared to respond if any illegal activity by the 'Sarmat' was detected. Report with photo: https://theins.press/en/news/297796
Russian tugs near critical infrastructure observed
The movements of two Russian vessels near the cables supplying Læsø with electricity and fiber-optic internet prompted the municipality to activate its crisis management team. The 'Sarmat' and 'Ajax' have since moved on, and no damage to the cables has been detected. The sighting of the Russian tug 'Sarmat' on Sep 18, 2026, had triggered a five-day period of heightened alert on Læsø. The vessel had been sailing back and forth in the waters between the island and Frederikshavn and was later joined by the Russian tugboat *Ajax*. According to Læsø Municipality, the ships moved in a pattern near the island's utility cables that raised concerns. Consequently, the municipality convened its crisis management team and contacted Naval Station Frederikshavn, the North Jutland Police, and the North Jutland Emergency Management Agency. Among other things, the team reviewed the municipality's contingency plans in the event of a power outage. The incident underscores how maritime activity can impact critical infrastructure on land. However, no sabotage or damage to the cables has been documented, and the reason for the Russian vessels' specific movements remained undetermined. With a municipal emergency response officer on board, the Læsø ferry attempted to contact the 'Sarmat'. The ship replied that it was engaged in towing operations. Municipal Chief Executive Kurt Gadegaard Bennetsen told NB-Kommune that the vessel was towing a barge, but the municipality did not know what the equipment was being used for. Furthermore, the municipality could not definitively link the passage of a Danish naval vessel in the area to the Russian ships. The two tugs set a course for Murmansk on the night of Sep 22. The Læsø Municipality has subsequently stood down its heightened state of readiness. The key finding from the municipality’s assessment so far was that neither the cables nor other critical infrastructure have sustained damage.
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