Officials are alarmed after a Russian ship emerged in the Strait of Gibraltar, after being spotted near key undersea communication cables in the Irish Sea.
The Yantar, meaning amber in Russian, is being monitored by the Spanish naval vessel Vigía and the frigates Méndez Núñez and Blas de Lezo, along with other Kremlin ships.
According to Spanish outlet EuropaSur, European countries in the region have become concerned at the activity of the Yantar.
The ship left the port of Severodvinsk in northern Russia and is expected to arrive in the Algerian port of Algiers on 27 November.
The Yantar is officially an ‘oceanographic research vessel’. However, it is able to deploy mini-submarines which themselves can submerge to depths of more than 6,000 metres.
This, in turn, allows it to operate near key underwater cables and other critical infrastructure.
The Yantar’s presence near Irish Sea underwater cables comes after the damaging of a communication cable between Finland and Germany last week.
Referencing the Yantar’s recent foray into the Irish Sea, Defence Secretary John Healey said: “Clearly, there is a recognition in recent months, not least because we have seen damage to essential undersea cables in different parts of the north Atlantic, the North Sea and the Baltic, that this is an area that requires attention.
“We tracked them every mile of their circumvention and made sure that they knew we were watching.”
Mr Healey spoke just days after cutting the UK Defence budget by £500m, including scrapping HMS Albion and HMS Bulwark.