Icelandic Authorities Track Russian Warship

The Icelandic Coast Guard, in close coordination with the Defence Directorate of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs and NATO Allied Command Operations, is tracking the movements of a Russian naval vessel currently operating outside Iceland's  territorial waters but within its Exclusive Economic Zone, including in the waters between Iceland and Greenland.

The vessel in question is the Russian intelligence ship Yuri Ivanov, which was observed monitoring NATO exercises in the North Atlantic last week. The ship carries limited armament and is primarily tasked with intelligence gathering and surveillance. There are no indications that the vessel poses a threat to subsea infrastructure or to the safety of maritime traffic.

Russian naval vessels of this type routinely monitor NATO exercises and operations and have previously transited the EEZs of other Allied nations; the Yuri Ivanov was recently reported operating off the Norwegian coast.

An Icelandic Coast Guard helicopter conducted a surveillance flight to the vessel yesterday and obtained the photograph accompanying this release. As of this morning, the ship was tracking sailing West of Iceland. Its movements continue to be monitored closely by the NATO Control and Reporting Centre in Keflavík.