A Russian spy ship was recently spotted snooping off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Oahu.
The Coast Guard “detected and monitored” the ship, which was about 15 nautical miles south of Oahu on Oct. 29, according to a Coast Guard news release. Territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from shore.
The Coast Guard said it sent an HC-130 Hercules aircraft and the Coast Guard Cutter William Hart to monitor the ship until it left the vicinity of American territory.
The ship was being monitored to “provide maritime security for U.S. vessels operating in the area and to support U.S. homeland defense efforts,” the release said.
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The ship was identified as the Russian Federation Navy Auxiliary general intelligence ship Kareliya, a Vishnya-class intelligence ship.
“The U.S. Coast Guard routinely monitors maritime activity around the Hawaiian Islands and throughout the Pacific to ensure the safety and security of U.S. waters,” Capt. Matthew Chong, chief of response, Coast Guard Oceania District, said.
“Working in concert with partners and allies, our crews monitor and respond to foreign military vessel activity near our territorial waters to protect our maritime borders and defend our sovereign interests,” Chong said.
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This week, the ship was in international waters off the island of Hawaii, according to a Tuesday report from the Honolulu Star-Advertiser.
He responded that the Coast Guard works with the Indo-Pacific Command “to monitor the maritime borders and approaches to the United States to ensure the safety and security of U.S. waters and the protection of our citizens.”
Lt. Cmdr. Chloe Morgan, a representative of the Indo-Pacific Command, said it was monitoring a Russian military ship and “continuously tracks all vessels and aircraft in the region using joint capabilities to protect the U.S. homeland, support allies and partners, and ensure adherence to international law in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Chong said the agencies “constantly monitor the activity of foreign military vessels operating near U.S. territorial waters, regardless of the vessels’ capabilities or intentions.”
“The Coast Guard has observed similar vessels operating in our area of responsibility, including in 2023,” he said.
In January 2023, the Coast Guard monitored a Russian ship that spent weeks near the islands.
In May 2021, a U.S. missile defense test was delayed after a Russian ship was lurking off the coast of Kauai near the Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands.
In June 2021, a Russian spy ship loitered near Oahu.
The ship that snooped off the coast of Hawaii this year is part of a class of ships built in the 1980s, according to Fox News. The ships have signals intelligence gathering capability as well as defensive weapons.
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