France Deploys Reconnaissance Ship to Monitor Russian Activity in Baltic Sea

The French Navy has deployed the signals intelligence vessel Dupuy de Lôme to the Baltic Sea to intercept radio transmissions linked to Russian military activity, German newspaper Kieler Nachrichten reported.

The ship began its mission last Friday, conducting surveillance in an area where NATO is seeking increased intelligence on Russian operations.

The newspaper described the mission as classified; no official confirmation has been released.

The Dupuy de Lôme (A759) was commissioned into the French Navy in April 2006.

Designed under the MINREM (Moyen Interarmées Naval de recherche ElectroMagnétique) program, the ship is equipped to detect, intercept and analyze electromagnetic emissions in the 300 MHz to 90 GHz range.

Germany has also stationed its reconnaissance ship Oker in the Baltic, operating near Kaliningrad and in the Gulf of Finland in recent weeks.

The vessel is tasked with intercepting and recording electromagnetic signals.

On May 19, Russia released the Green Admire, a Liberian-flagged oil tanker owned by a Greek company. The vessel had been detained a day earlier while transiting Russian territorial waters after departing from the Estonian port of Sillamäe with a shipment of shale oil. It was the first such incident involving a commercial ship in the area.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna said the detention was likely a response to increasing pressure on Russia’s so-called shadow fleet operating in the Baltic Sea.

The incident followed an earlier confrontation involving the tanker Jaguar, which was en route to Russia.

According to Estonian authorities, the crew ignored instructions from the Estonian Navy. The vessel was later escorted to the Russian port of Primorsk by a Russian Su-35S fighter, which reportedly violated Estonian airspace and lacked two-way communication with Estonian air traffic control.