The USCG cutter Stratton shadows a Russian submarine near Alaska. Picture: US Coast Guard
The US Coast Guard says it located and tracked four Russian Navy vessels in US waters off Alaska on Sunday (US time).
The four Russian Federation Navy (RFN) vessels, including two submarines, were detected 57 miles northwest of Point Hope, Alaska.
The US Coast Guard said in a statement that while on a routine patrol in the Chukchi Sea, the crew of USCG Cutter Stratton observed the Russian vessels sailing southeast along the Russian side of the Maritime Boundary Line (MBL).
The Coast Guard said the crew of the Stratton saw the Russian vessels cross the MBL into US Arctic waters and moved in to observe them.
The Russian vessels were judged to be avoiding sea ice on the Russian side of the MBL and operated in accordance with international rules and customs, the US maritime service explained.
The Russian ships sailed 30 miles into the US Exclusive Economic Zone.
“We are actively patrolling our maritime border in the Bering Sea, Bering Strait, and Chukchi Sea, with our largest and most capable cutters and aircraft, to protect US sovereign interests, US fish stocks, and to promote international maritime norms,” said Rear Admiral Megan Dean, Commander of Coast Guard District Seventeen.
“Coast Guard Cutter Stratton ensured there were no disruptions to US interests.”
The Russian vessels comprised a Severodvinsk-class submarine, Dolgorukiy-class submarine, Steregushchiy-class Frigate and a Seliva-class tug.
The Stratton is on patrol as part of Operation Frontier Sentinel, an operation designed to meet presence with presence when strategic competitors operate in and around US waters.
The US Coast Guard says its presence strengthens the international rules-based order and promotes the conduct of operations to international law and norms.
The USCG Stratton is a 418-foot cutter whose home port is at Alameda, California.
