"Interference and sabotage": Russian ship is said to have spied on the energy system

Relations between Russia and the Netherlands have been strained since the downing of passenger flight MH17. Now the Military Information Service in The Hague has announced that it has intercepted a Kremlin ship. It should sabotage the energy infrastructure in the North Sea.

According to the Dutch military information service MIVD, Russia has tried to spy on and sabotage the country’s energy system. A Russian ship was discovered a few months ago in the North Sea collecting information about wind farms, the MIVD said in The Hague. It was about “preparatory actions for disturbances and sabotage”, said MIVD director Jan Swillens.

“We have noticed in recent months that Russian actors are trying to understand the organization of our energy supply in the North Sea with the intention of disrupting it,” Swillens said. The attempt was unsuccessful. The ship entered Dutch territorial waters and was escorted out again by the Dutch Coast Guard and Navy.

The Russians are still “very interested” in the infrastructure in the North Sea, said Swillens. According to information from the MIVD, this also involves internet cables and gas lines. This makes it clear that the threat to the Netherlands is more concrete than many think, said Swillens.

Relations between Russia and the Netherlands have deteriorated sharply since the downing of passenger flight MH17 by a Russian anti-aircraft missile over eastern Ukraine in 2014. At that time, 298 people were killed on board, most of whom were Dutch. About two weeks ago, international investigators announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin himself played an active role in the downing of the passenger plane. At the weekend, the government in The Hague announced the expulsion of around ten Russian diplomats. It should also go to suspected espionage.

According to the head of the Dutch secret service, Erik Akerboom, the incident in the North Sea is not connected to the expulsion. According to a Dutch intelligence report, regardless of the outcome of the war in Ukraine, Russia “is likely to continue to pose a threat to the Netherlands in the long term.”