Divers Discover Russian Hydroacoustic Buoy off the Coast of Wales

A team of volunteer divers from the organization Neptune’s Army of Rubbish Cleaners (NARC) discovered an unidentified object during a dive in the Skomer Marine Reserve off the coast of Pembrokeshire on November 15.

According to the BBC, it was initially thought to be a navigation marker, but later it was suspected that it could be a Russian hydroacoustic buoy.

NARC’s chairman, Dave Kennard, reported that the device was found by volunteer Tim Smith-Gosling, who discovered it wedged in an underwater crevice.

After additional consultations with the port authority, the divers concluded that the object resembled underwater detection systems.

Independent military analysts stated that it is highly likely to be a Russian RGB-1A buoy that experienced a deep-water implosion.

The device, approximately 120 cm long and weighing 15 kg, was brought to the surface using a special lifting bag.

Hydroacoustic buoys are widely used to detect underwater objects, including submarines.

They are employed in military operations, training exercises, and search-and-rescue missions. Similar devices were used during the search for the missing Titan submersible in 2023 and the Malaysia Airlines aircraft in 2014.

It is worth recalling that, according to sources, the crew of the Russian tanker Eagle S, which was boarded in December 2024, dropped ‘sensor-type devices’ into the sea while passing through the English Channel.

They noted that, as far as they were aware, the equipment never returned to the ship after being offloaded for analysis. It is likely that the hydroacoustic buoy that was found was among the devices that were dropped.

Russian intelligence services have also equipped the MS Estonia shipwreck site in the Baltic Sea for underwater espionage.

Journalists concluded that Russia is using the ferry’s wreck site, which is off-limits to divers, as a training ground for underwater operations.