The British Navy states that they observed two Russian submarines off the Norwegian coast in international waters on July 16 and 19.

The submarines must have been heading south along the coast, northwest of Bergen. In a press release, the British Navy noted that the British ship HMS Portland was on a mission in the North Sea off the west coast when it discovered the Russian submarines Severodvinsk and Vepr.

The Norwegian Navy’s communications manager, Torill Herland, refers to the incident as routine and unproblematic.

“These days, a significant proportion of Russian vessels are on their way to the commemoration of the Russian Navy Day, which takes place in St. Petersburg on July 31 every year. Ahead of this, there is increased Russian activity,” she told the newspaper Bergensavisen.

“Not unusual”

“It is not unusual; it happens every year and is something we are very familiar with,” she added.

Vessels from the Norwegian Navy were among the boats that followed the Russian submarines.

Major and spokesperson at the Norwegian Armed Forces’ operational headquarters, Elisabeth Eikeland, told TV 2 that Russian vessels often sail in the North Sea.

“To get the submarines from Kola, in the north of Russia, to St. Petersburg, they have to travel past our coast.”

Baltic NATO ships followed the submarines on their journey. According to the British Navy, a British surveillance aircraft was also deployed to assist in the tracking.

Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews

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