[Dolalin]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-65461401

Nord Stream: Report puts Russian navy ships near pipeline blast site

The ships are believed to include the Russian naval research vessel Sibiryakov, the tugboat SB-123, and a third ship from the Russian naval fleet that the media outlets have not been able to identify by name.

These were so-called "ghost-ships", which had their transmitters turned off. The broadcasters, however, say they were able to track their movements, using intercepted radio communications the vessels sent to Russian naval bases between June and September 2022.

These movements were tracked by a former British naval intelligence officer, who worked on interception of the Russian Baltic Fleet until he retired in 2018. That person - who remains anonymous in the documentary - says he used open-source information and radio communications to carry out his research.

These ships are said to have been in the vicinity of an explosion site for several hours and, in one case, for almost a full day.

One of the vessels, the Sibiryakov, is believed to be capable of underwater surveillance and mapping as well as launching a small underwater vehicle.

The former Royal Naval intelligence officer says it took an unusual navigational track in June, around the place where the pipeline would later blow up, and changed its communications pattern to a secret receiver.

Another unnamed vessel was also present in that area the previous week in June.

And a third vessel, the naval tugboat the SB-123, is said to have arrived just five days before the September explosions. The radio communication suggests that it stayed there for the entire evening and night before sailing back towards Russia.

Seems like a pretty transparent attempt to juice the gas crisis in Germany before winter. Must have really stuck in Putin's craw when they spun up all that LPG capacity and made Russian supply irrelevant.