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A Russian Vessel Creeps Near UK Cables for 14 Hours—Until Britain Sent a Helicopter
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British military forces ordered a Russian cargo vessel to leave UK territorial waters after it anchored dangerously close to transatlantic undersea communications cables in the Bristol Channel, The Telegraph reported on January 29.
The incident occurred on January 27, when the Russian-flagged vessel SINEGORSK dropped anchor roughly 2.3 miles (3.7 km) off the coast of Somerset.
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According to the report, the ship’s position placed it less than 1.1 miles (1.8 km) from a cluster of critical subsea telecommunications cables linking the UK with the United States, Canada, Spain, and Portugal.
Russian representatives told British authorities that the stop was due to “necessary repair work.” UK officials rejected that explanation and instructed the vessel to leave the area immediately.
After the ship remained anchored for several hours, the UK escalated its response. Roughly 14 hours later, a Wildcat military helicopter was scrambled from Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton in Somerset and flew low over the vessel. Shortly afterward, the Russian crew raised anchor and departed for open waters.
Maritime tracking data from MarineTraffic shows that SINEGORSK had last called at port about three weeks earlier in Arkhangelsk—a city that serves not only as a commercial hub but also as a key base for Russia’s Northern Fleet.
🚨 A Russian cargo ship, #Sinegorsk, was spotted anchoring over transatlantic data cables in the Bristol Channel. The Royal Navy monitored and escorted it out of UK waters. No incidents reported, but concerns over critical infrastructure remain. pic.twitter.com/4mpkVWPFvQ
— NewsFromSea (@riskiomap) January 29, 2026
At the time of the standoff, the vessel was operating near at least five major undersea cable systems, including TGN Atlantic, EXA Express, and VSNL Western Europe—infrastructure that carries a significant share of transatlantic internet and data traffic.
Earlier, Italian financial authorities detained a cargo ship in the port of Brindisi on suspicion of violating European Union sanctions targeting Russia.
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