Swann wants Anglo-Irish naval cooperation to counter ‘potential underwater threats’ from Russian vessels

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Robin Swann has urged the British Government to strengthen cooperation with the Irish authorities to ensure the west coasts of Ireland and Britain are protected from ‘potential underwater threats’ from Russians vessels.

The UUP MP issued the call in the British House of Commons on Wednesday after Defence Secretary John Healey told MPs the Yantar, a Russian oceanographic research vessel, was being tracked by the Royal Navy in the North Sea.

Mr. Swann said: “The Secretary of State will be aware of an occasion just over a year ago when a Russian submarine was actually chased from the harbour in Cork [sic] by the British navy because the Irish navy doesn't have sonar equipment to detect those potential underwater threats.”

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The former UUP leader was referring to unconfirmed media reports that British forces tracked a Russian submarine more than 12 miles south of Cork harbour in international waters in December 2023.

HMS Somerset (Type 23 frigate) anchored in the solent Portsmouth.HMS Somerset (Type 23 frigate) anchored in the solent Portsmouth.
HMS Somerset (Type 23 frigate) anchored in the solent Portsmouth.

Mr. Swann claimed Russian ships may be monitoring undersea communications cables that ferry ‘97 per cent of the world's communication internet traffic’.

"Can I ask the Secretary of State what communication or interaction he has had with the Irish Government, or indeed the Irish armed forces in regards to strengthening our cooperation with them to ensure that the west coast of these British isles are protected?” he asked.

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Mr. Healey responded: “We don't and we won't comment on our specific operational details like that. Needless to say, however, that we work very closely with the Irish government on such matters and recently our Chief of the Defence Staff [Admiral Tony Radakin] met his counterpart from Ireland [Lieutenant General Seán Clancy].”

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Earlier the British defence secretary described the Yantar as a spy ship that had been tracked in the English Channel by the British frigate, the HMS Somerset, ‘just weeks after it was caught loitering over critical undersea infrastructure in UK waters’.

In November, Mr. Healy said a British submarine had surfaced close to the Yantar, to warn it ‘had been secretly monitoring its every move’.

A British ‘multi-role ocean surveillance ship’, the Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) Proteus, was also involved in the shadowing of the Yantar last November.

The vessel subsequently relocated to the Mediterranean but was spotted near Britain this week.

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According to the Marine Traffic tracking website the Yantar made its way through the English Channel on Tuesday and on Wednesday was sailing northwards in the North Sea.

Defence Secretary John Healey MP said: “My message to President Putin [Vladimir, President of the Russian Federation] is clear. We know what you are doing, and we will not shy away from robust action to protect Britain.

“National security is our government’s first duty and a foundation of our Plan for Change. Alongside our Joint Expeditionary Force and NATO allies, we are strengthening our response to ensure that Russian ships and aircraft cannot operate in secrecy near UK or NATO territory.

“We will continue to call out the malign activity that Putin directs, cracking down on the Russian shadow fleet to prevent funding for his illegal invasion of Ukraine.”

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