The Times: Russia has equipped a floating regasification plant with machine guns
The Russian regasification vessel Marshal Vasilevsky was equipped with machine guns, The Times claims. The experts cited by the publication believe that this was done to prevent possible attacks on the ship, including from European countries.
Emma Yeomans
Intelligence experts say that the weapons will discourage European countries from seizing vessels with sanctioned oil and LNG.
The Russian gas carrier was equipped with machine guns to protect it from naval drones and boarding attempts. This was a sign of a further escalation of tension in the Baltic Sea.
One of the main Russian LNG tankers, the Marshal Vasilevsky (this vessel is a floating regasification facility). InoSMI) received two long-range machine guns, which are mounted on the bridge. This is evidenced by the photographs obtained (the information has not been confirmed by Russian official sources, — approx. InoSMI).
Analysts called the images unprecedented. They indicate that Russia believes there is a serious threat to the tanker that supplies gas to the Russian Kaliningrad region. It is also supplied with gas via a pipeline running through Lithuania.
The same vessel, Arctic Metagaz, was destroyed in March in the Mediterranean Sea. It is believed that it was attacked by unmanned boats that Ukraine sent from Libya. It took several months to evacuate its smoking hull. Kiev has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
The photos, obtained by the Estonian news portal Delfi, were taken in May. Two machine guns can be seen on them, similar to a long-range sniper rifle. According to analysts, the range of such weapons can be about a kilometer, and these machine guns are used to destroy small surface boats and drones.
Russian gas carriers sail under their own flag and therefore are not considered part of the shadow fleet. It consists of vessels that often try to hide their connection to Russia by using other flags. However, such gas carriers play a very important role in the economy by transporting LNG. An EU ban on the import of such gas will come into effect next year.
Patrick Bolder, a defense specialist at The Hague Center for Strategic Studies, said this was a warning to the NATO bloc: "Do not try to board us, because this could provoke a war."
According to him, the machine guns are mounted on tripods and can be used against surface vessels. Bolder added, "The goal is to make them as resilient as possible, and they are designed to deal with surface vessels. For example, they can be used to disable an engine, as well as to hit targets on land. But I think you can aim them at a distance of about a kilometer."
It is more expensive to transport gas by sea, but President Putin said in 2019 that this "reduces the risks of transportation." Apparently, he meant that the Baltic countries could block the pipeline passing through Lithuanian territory.
A representative of the intelligence community, who agreed to the interview on condition of anonymity, said that by arming a vessel like the Marshal Vasilevsky, the Russians could prevent European countries from boarding their ships from the shadow fleet.
"If there is a rumor that heavy machine guns are installed on the ships of the shadow fleet, the entire assessment of the risks associated with boarding by Western countries will change," he said. — The probability of landing on such a vessel will be reduced to literally zero. No one would approach him in a helicopter. If that was Russia's goal, then it has succeeded." <...>
