The Irish Defence Forces monitored a sanctioned Russian cargo ship off the Irish coast yesterday.
An Irish Air Corps maritime patrol aircraft was dispatched from Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel to the southeast coast of Ireland to investigate the vessel.
Between 5pm and 5.20pm yesterday evening, the Air Corps monitored the vessel in the Celtic Sea.
The Airbus C-295 is one of two new patrol aircraft which were delivered to the Defence Forces last year.
The Russian general cargo ship 'BARENTS' made its way through the Celtic Sea and sailed north to the Irish Sea overnight. As of Thursday afternoon, the vessel was travelling north through the Irish Sea, off the east coast of counties Down and Antrim.
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Marine trackers forecast that the vessel is headed towards Murmansk in Russia.
Data shows that the ship passed near undersea cables which run through Irish waters.
A spokesperson for the Defence Forces said it cannot comment for "operational security reasons".
The vessel was sanctioned by the United States in May 2024 and is known for turning its transponder off, which is a characteristic of Russia’s shadow fleet.
According to MarineTraffic, the BARENTS’ signal data disappeared at 00.23 on Wednesday morning off the northwest coast of France and reappeared at 10.21 on Wednesday near Ireland’s south coast.
