Russian authorities claim they have found two mines on a gas tanker coming from Antwerp. The explosives were discovered on the hull of the vessel upon arrival in Ust-Luga, southwest of St. Petersburg. According to the Russian security service FSB, a “terrorist attack has been thwarted”, reports the Russian state agency TASS.
Journalist at HLN
Source: Belga
LOOK. These images show the two mines stuck to the hull of the vessel.
According to Russia, the gas tanker Arrhenius, which sails under the Liberian flag, entered the port of Ust-Luga on the Baltic Sea on Wednesday, May 20. The ship would then continue to the Turkish port city of Samsun.
An inspection of part of the hull allegedly found “explosives resembling magnetic sea mines” near the engine room, the FSB said. According to the Russian security service, the mines each contain approximately seven kilograms of explosives. The explosives were said to have been “presumably manufactured in a NATO country”.
Ship was stationary in Antwerp for 36 hours
According to the FSB, the captain stated during an interrogation that the ship had been anchored in the port of Antwerp for 36 hours, “allegedly due to a strike by dock workers.”
Russian authorities have now opened a criminal investigation. Russia emphasizes that it is “absolutely impossible” that the mines were placed on the ship domestically.
