Polish border guards reported Thursday that a Russian fishing boat was seen behaving suspiciously close to an underwater gas pipeline near the city of Władysławowo, heightening concerns about possible sabotage in the Baltic Sea.
“On October 1, a Russian fishing vessel slowed down and carried out unusual maneuvers close to a Petrobaltic pipeline,” the border guard said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
The incident occurred roughly 18 nautical miles north of Władysławowo. Officials added that after receiving a radio warning, the ship’s captain steered away from the restricted area around the infrastructure.
Just 300 meters away
According to Interior Ministry spokeswoman Karolina Gałecka, the Russian vessel approached to within about 300 meters of the pipeline. The Russian Embassy in Warsaw has not responded to a request for comment.
Earlier the same day, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk told reporters at an informal EU leaders’ meeting in Copenhagen about another incident linked to the port of Szczecin, some 300 kilometers southwest of Władysławowo. He gave no details, but warned that Russian provocations in the Baltic occur “almost every day.”
The Baltic Sea is bordered by six NATO members, all of which have stepped up surveillance of undersea cables and pipelines following a string of suspected sabotage operations widely blamed on Moscow.
