© BELGIUM
Over the past six months, at least five non-military ships that our security services suspect are involved in espionage have passed by in our North Sea. VRT news reported this on Saturday based on the Maritime Security Unit. Fishing vessels are also taken into account.
“Today espionage is more difficult to detect. Where previously research vessels or military ships were mainly used, we now see non-military ships more often,” says Thomas De Spiegelaere, spokesperson for the Maritime Security Unit, to VRT news. “For example, these are merchant ships, but they can also be fishing vessels. That makes detection much more difficult. We then see that they suddenly start sailing more slowly.”
The office of Minister of Justice and of the North Sea Paul Van Tigchelt (Open VLD) also confirms this trend. “For example, Chinese dredgers have a dual status and can be used for military use in addition to economic use. Of course, that doesn’t make detection any easier.”
Norebo
For example, the Belgian security services keep an eye on the Russian shipping company Norebo, which is not without reproach. The Russian fishing company has more than 40 ships, fishing for cod and coalfish in the Norwegian Sea, the Barents Sea or the Pacific Ocean. One of Norebo’s ships – the Taurus – has been linked to espionage in the past, when it made “unusual movements” in late 2022 that coincided with the appearance of US submarines.
The Maritime Security Unit confirms that the ships of this shipping company are also monitored by us. This concerns, for example, the ‘Kapitan Sokolov’, which has been spotted several times in the North Sea. “It is a ship with a lot of technology on board, which can be used for fishing and possibly also for espionage activities,” says De Spiegelaere.
Norebo himself denies any involvement in espionage.