German navy inspector says Russia ‘aggressive at sea’

Germany’s navy inspector has warned of a persistently high Russian threat, particularly in the Baltic Sea, citing aggressive activity by Moscow.

The Russian navy was “aggressive at sea, through the surveillance of bases and units, attempts at intimidation and sabotage, drone overflights and the use of the shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea,” Vice Admiral Jan Christian Kaack said on Thursday in Berlin.

He said Russia was now also protecting ships in its so-called shadow fleet with weapons, either through naval vessels or armed security teams on board. However, Kaack said this was also putting additional strain on the Russian navy, which did not have unlimited resources.

The shadow fleet includes tankers and cargo ships used by Russia to circumvent sanctions, including a Western price cap on Russian oil exports to third countries. The vessels often sail under foreign flags and, according to Western officials, conceal their movements or the origin of their cargo.

Kaack said Germany and its allies now had a much clearer picture of maritime activity by combining data from ships, aircraft, coastal radar and satellites.

The time needed to detect suspicious activity had fallen from 17 hours to around one hour, he said.

The navy inspector also stressed the navy’s role in protecting global trade, saying developments in the Middle East, the Red Sea and the Gulf showed that freedom of navigation could not be taken for granted.

He added that staffing levels in the German navy were growing again for the first time, with 3,000 additional personnel expected in 2026.

Kaack also announced changes to the deployment of two German vessels that had been sent for a possible mine-clearing mission in the Strait of Hormuz and are now in the Mediterranean. The minehunter Fulda will initially remain there with a new crew, while the support vessel Mosel will return home and be replaced if necessary.