Russia spy ship arrives in Trinidad caused the US to send aircraft carrier, 2nd time this yr

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Spy games - Trinidad and Tobago Newsday
2 Days Ago

The crew of the Viktor Leonov, a Russian ship, carries supplies on board the vessel docked at the Port of Spain International Waterfront on Friday.
Spy games
JENSEN LA VENDE

Two days before the US Embassy increased their advisory to their citizens warning them to stay away from parts of the city, a US military plane that was in Montenegro began its journey to TT.

The aircraft, which was carries identification NARK73 on FlightAware and has an unknown owner, arrived in the country at 2.31 pm yesterday. The plane, the Sunday Newsday was told, is a surveillance-gathering aircraft used by the US and also provides “US crisis response.” The plane landed one day before Russian ship Viktor Leonov which was labelled as a spy ship, is scheduled to leave the country.

The Viktor Leonov arrived in the country on Thursday and is scheduled to leave today. It was docked at the Port of Spain International Waterfront. This is the second time for the year that the ship has been in the country. Calls to the National Security Minister Edmund Dillon’s cellphones went unanswered yesterday and Friday when the ship was first noticed.

Transport Minister Rohan Sinanan when contacted said it is not unusual for a ship of that nature to seek and receive clearance to dock in the country. When asked about the implications of the ship’s presence given the recent pronouncement of a terror plot being unearthed and the US embassy advising their citizens to be cautious, Sinanan said he would not want to comment on National Security issues.

According to a CNN report, the Viktor Leonov was said to have left TT last month to spy on US military bases along the US east coast.

The Boeing C-32B left a military base in Montenegro last Wednesday. The plane, which carries a South American foreign emergency support team, began its journey at the Golubvci Airbase then made three flights the following day beginning at the Stuttgart Echterdingen International Airport in Germany before leaving for Bangor International Airport, a part military, part civilian airport, then to Hurlburt Field Airport which is a US Air Force base, then to Tampa International Airport. Two days later the plane left for Trinidad. A US special operations team is also headed for Guyana which has a Russian embassy which the Sunday Newsday was advised to contact regarding the Viktor Leonov. No one was at that embassy when the Sunday Newsday called yesterday.

In the latest US advisory, the embassy advised Americans visiting and/or living/working in TT to exercise “increased caution” due to crime and terrorism. “Do not travel to some areas of Port of Spain due to crime,” it warned. The advisory specifically said murder, robbery, assault, sexual assault, home invasion and kidnapping were common. It also said gang activity such as narcotics trafficking was also common and a significant portion of violent crime was gang-related.

“Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas,” the advisory stated.

Contacted on Friday, when the Russian ship was spotted, the US Embassy said any questions relating to the ship should be posed to local authorities. Regarding the updated advisory, the US Embassy said the increased threat came as other embassies also increased their threat levels to their citizens. The Sunday Newsday checked the websites for the UK and Canadian embassies but only the US had increased their advisory. The UK and Canada issued advisories on February 16 and 19 respectively and both said the issued advisory on those days remained valid today. The US issued their first advisory on February 8. In the updated advisory under a heading marked Port of Spain, the advisory sets out a ban on US government personnel from going to certain areas of the country.

 

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Pentagon Shadowing Russian Spy Ship


1 month ago
Pentagon Shadowing Russian Spy Ship

Bill Gertz
1 month ago

The Viktor Leonov CCB-175, a Russian Navy intelligence warship, is docked to a pier in Old Havana / Getty Images

Russia has dispatched an intelligence gathering ship to the Caribbean Sea that is being closely monitored by the Pentagon, according to defense officials.

The spy ship Viktor Leonov was spotted leaving Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday after five days on the island, and its current destination is unknown, said two officials familiar with reports of the intelligence gathering ship.

"We're monitoring [the ship]. It's an annual thing," said one of the officials. "We've seen it off Cape Canaveral, [Fla.], Kings Bay, [Ga.], Norfolk, [Va.], and New London, [Conn.]."



Kings Bay is home to the Navy's Submarine Group 10 that includes 10 nuclear missile submarines as well as special operations submarine forces.

Norfolk is the location of the Navy's major East Coast naval base and New London is also a major submarine base near Groton.

A second official said the AGI ship, for auxiliary, general intelligence, is being tracked by the Navy and appears similar to previous Russian operations in this region.

"What makes it noteworthy is the increase of Russian naval activity worldwide," this official said. "It makes us pay close attention, not to the tactics, but to how this fits into overall Russian naval behavior."

The Leonov deployment also is another example of Russia's increase maritime competition with the United States, "this time in our backyard," the second officials said.

"Most assume competition will be seen and felt far from home," he said. "This is another reminder that we are an island nation subject to naval competition right off our shores."

Last February, the Leonov was followed after sailing some 30 miles off the coast of Connecticut. The ship then moved to waters off Norfolk.

President Trump during a press conference in February 2017 told reporters in commenting on the Russian election meddling probe that "the greatest thing I could do is shoot that ship that's 30 miles off shore right out of the water."

Two years ago the Leonov was followed loitering around Kings Bay, apparently hunting for departing U.S. ballistic missile submarines.

In April 2014, the Leonov and a companion Russian tug, the Nikolay Chiker, were tracked as they conducted operations to spy on undersea cables—an indication Moscow may plan to attack internet connections in a future conflict.

The last time Russia dispatched a submarine to waters near the United States was 2012 when the Navy detected an Akula-class attack submarine near the East Coast.

That mission was viewed as training for Russian naval forces to locate and sink U.S. missile submarines in a future conflict.

Disclosure of the Leonov visit comes as the Pentagon confirmed Moscow's plans to deploy an unmanned underwater drone equipped with a massive, megaton-sized nuclear warhead.

The Leonov also may visit Cuba or Nicaragua, the officials said.

The officials commented on the Leonov after the activities of the ship were first disclosed by Steffan Watkins, a Canadian security analyst who closely tracks Russian ship movements.

Watkins said he used "Somint"—social media intelligence gathering—to trace the Leonov's movements beginning with its mid-December sail from northeastern Russia and crossing the English Channel on Christmas Eve.

He also discovered Facebook postings by a Russian suspected of being one of the Leonov's crew members that showed photos of the crew's liberty in Port of Spain.

"Viktor Leonov arrived in Port of Spain and departed the morning of Jan. 15 after spending five days restocking her stores," Watkins said, noting past deployments have lasted around six months and included stops at Russian-allied states such as Cuba and Nicaragua.

The ship usually spends around two months spying off the East Coast, he said.

"I believe their mission is to take inventory of underwater sensors, military undersea cables, sonar, radar, and snooping on rocket telemetry from launches at Cape Canaveral," Watkins said.

Watkins said last year's visit by the Leonov coincided with what he said were "wild" media reports that the ship was linked to 2016 Russian election meddling.

"But these deployments are military-intelligence related, routine, and unrelated to any president," he said.

The Navy likely will deploy a destroyer or the Coast Guard will deploy a cutter to shadow the Leonov, along with surveillance flights by P-8 aircraft, as occurred during last year's spying mission, Watkins said.

 

[doe moe]

Why they keep letting Russia get close?

Something not right about all this.

 

[Mask]

Why they keep letting Russia get close?

Something not right about all this.

Actually there's agreement that slows this but I don't know the meat of the agreement.


They might be trying to get in tight with Trinidad, which could help with Venezuela.

 

[bgbtylvr]

Stocking up on Trump Steaks.

 

[Joe Grind]

they went for carnival

 

[Heavenlywings77]

not my bidness

 

[Mask]

they went for carnival

I see what u did there...

 

[lightbright]

they went for carnival

....and you're on your "grind"....Joe.....you beat me to that one !!!!


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