Hav-Dolphin

The ' HAV Dolphin', with a Russian crew on board and suspected of serving as a depot ship for Russian drones, arrived in Vaasa on Aug 28, 2025, at 2 p.m. The Western Finland Coast Guard Section monitored the ship's arrival at the port. Several media outlets were also present. The ship had left the port of Antwerp three days ago with 2600 tons steel as argo on board. It had left the port of Kaliningrad in May. The ship was searched by Dutch authorities after they were alerted by German police. German authorities had reported suspicious activity around the ship, as several drones had been seen near it. The ship has also made unusually long stays at its destinations. The shipdoes not have any drones on board, the Norwegian shipping company HAV Shipping in Oslo claimed, statiing that when the suspicions arose, the ship was anchored outside the Kiel Canal, and there were many other ships there too. According to the shipping company, the HAV Dolphin is transporting a cargo of steel to Vaasa. The order was placed by the ArcelorMittal, an international company headquartered in Luxembourg. The Norwegian shipping company has also let the 'HAV Dolphin' handle maintenance in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, a fact that has increased criticism of the shipping company. But CEO Nico Fürst emppahsized that they brought in all the spare parts themselves and did not buy anything in Russia, and the ship did not take out cargo when it left the port. The 'HAV Dolphin' is one of two cargo ships that German and Dutch authorities have identified as suspected depot ships for Russian drones. The other vessel, the 'Lauga' (IMO: 9111060), was off the coast of Germany and the Netherlands in May and is currently off northwest Africa, en route from Cotonou, where it sailed on July 21, to Gulluk with an ETA as of Sep 7. Report with photo: https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/finland-news/domestic/27787-suspected-spy-vessel-arrives-in-vaasa-under-close-watch.html

The ' HAV Dolphin', with a Russian crew on board and suspected of serving as a depot ship for Russian drones, is sailing towards Vaasa with an ETA as of Aug 27. The ship left the port of Antwerp three days ago and now lists Vaasa as its next destination. It left the port of Kaliningrad in May. The ship was searched by Dutch authorities after they were alerted by German police. German authorities had reported suspicious activity around the ship, as several drones had been seen near it. The ship has also made unusually long stays at its destinations. The 'HAV Dolphin' is one of two cargo ships that German and Dutch authorities have identified as suspected depot ships for Russian drones. The other vessel, the 'Lauga', was off the coast of Germany and the Netherlands in May and is currently off northwest Africa and sailing towards Turkey.

The 'HAV Dolphin' with a full Russian crew that was stopped at the Volkerak locks near Willemstad in mid-May, being suspected of having deployed drones over European territory. German investigation services had warned the Coast Guard a few hours earlier that the ship had behaved suspiciously off the coast of Kiel in early May, exactly at the time that drones were spotted there. The ship was inspected by a team from Customs, the Royal Marechaussee and the police, but no drones were found. On the night June 17 May, 2025, drones appeared again, this time above the German patrol ship 'Potsdam', which at that time shadowed the Russian freighter 'Lauga' (IMO: 9111060) in the German Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ),. The drones followed the patrol ship for three hours, until just before Dutch waters. The German police were unable to determine whether the drones came from the 'Lauga', but asked the customs in Belgium, where the ship was en route, to inspect it. No drones were found there either. German investigation services have seen an increase in drone sightings over critical infrastructure, such as ports, chemical parks and military installations, for years. The German authorities have informed European investigative bodies of the events. The ships have been closely monitored since then. Both cargo ships were showing a striking behaviour. The ''HAV Dolphin' has spent a month in the port of Kaliningrad, Russia, near a naval base, and temporarily disabled the mandatory AIS during its journey. The 'Lauga' also did this during its journey across the North Sea. In addition, the cargo ship previously had visited the Russian naval base in Syria, which indicates possible ties with the Russian Ministry of Defence. The 'HAV Dolphin' left Rotterdam on May 16 and berthed in Papenburg on June 3. The 'Lauga' berthed in St. Petersburg, Russia, on June 4.

The '"Bienville" ran aground on the Ouse river in front of Goole in the early morning of Nov 4, 2015. The ship was en route from Riga to Goole with a cargo of timber. On Nov 4 the tugs "Lashette", "Shovette" and "Little Shuva" were attempting to free the vessel with the rising tide. Photos: http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2354861 http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2354857 http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2354608 http://www.shipspotting.com/gallery/photo.php?lid=2354856