The coast guard confirms to TV4 Nyheterna that they have their eyes on the Russian ships.
– We know those ships, and we have informed the relevant authorities and the Danish coast guard, says Klas Loven, command center officer at the coast guard to TV4 Nyheterna.
According to the coast guard, the ships are in Danish waters. Sea traffic radar shows how the ships have been lying and circulating in a small area in the Kattegatt at least since Monday evening. Why the ships are there is unclear.
– They have been there for a while, but I cannot say the exact time, says Loven.
Since the cable breaks in the Baltic Sea, both Swedish and Danish authorities have heightened surveillance of ships in the area. The Coast Guard confirms that this is an example of something they are extra vigilant about.
– Yes, the coast guard has increased surveillance in view of the situation around the world, says Loven.
One vessel is a SAR, short for Search and Rescue Vessels, and is 49 meters long. The other is a tugboat, 70 meters long. One of the vessels departed from a port outside Kaliningrad on Saturday, according to the Marine Traffic radar service. The second left a port outside Saint Petersburg on December 23 last year, according to the site.
The armed forces engaged
The Swedish Armed Forces confirm to TV4 Nyheterna that they are aware of the ships.
– We follow their movements, says Henrik Nyström, press secretary at the Swedish Armed Forces.
Same area as Yi Peng 3
In the same area in the Kattegatt, the Chinese vessel Yi Peng 3 stayed for several weeks, after it emerged that the vessel crossed the two cables that were broken in the Baltic Sea.
For about a month, the Chinese ship is said to have been stationary in the Kattegatt, surrounded by ships sent by Danish and German authorities. The Swedish coast guard also had a presence around Yi Peng 3.