Vasiliy-Shukshin

The 'Vasiliy Shuksin' loitered above undersea communication cables in the Pacific for weeks, as concerns were growing over potential Russian sabotage. The vessel had left the port of Vostochnyy on Dec 8, 2024, and stopped for a short period of time in South Korea, before it loitered off Taiwan's coast on Dec 19 amid growing fears among NATO members that the Russian President Vladimir Putin could target underwater cables and critical infrastructure that are vital to global communication systems. The vessel was aimlessly criss-crossing the area near Taiwan's Fangshan undersea cable landing station for 3,5 weeks for no apparent reason, before returning to Russia on the morning of Jan 14. The Taiwan Coastguard continued to monitor the situation.The vessel began its return to Russia a day after Ray Powell, director of the Stanford University-affiliated maritime analyst group SeaLight, initially raised the alarm about its activities. The ship, however, did not head southward to Vietnam as it previously self-reported, but straight back north to its home port of Vostochnyy. It has sailed 3,000 kilometers to loiter off southwest Taiwan for 3.5 weeks, without seeking to enter any Taiwan port and for no apparent reason, before returning to Russia. Report with photos: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/a-russian-ship-loitered-over-undersea-cables-for-weeks-in-the-pacific-what-it-means-7477149

The 'Vasiliy Shukhsin' ran out of fuel and went adrift on Nov 9,2020, 20 miles off the port of destination Vostochniy in Primorye. The vessel was taken in tow by the 'Spasatel Zaborshchikov' on Nov 12. The emergency towing lasted about 10 hours, at an average speed of 5 knots. The ship was pulled to to Vostochniy anchorage where it was moored in pos. 42° 44.85' N 133° 0.26' E on Nov 13 around 9 a.m. The ship was enroute from Busan, carrying 12 containers with 179.43 tons of cargo IMO Class 7 radioactive materials. Three of the 11 Russian crew members were found to have Covid-19 like symptoms and have been isolated.