Foreign submarine in Swedish waters

[Loppan Torkel]

http://www.thelocal.se/20141017/sweden-scrambles-against-foreign-activity-off-stockholm

UPDATED: Sweden's military has deployed planes and ships in the Stockholm Archipelago against what it says is a foreign threat in the waters, with the size of the operation unchanged overnight.

Sweden’s Armed Forces say the alert is in response to "foreign underwater activity" in the Stockholm Archipelago.

The operation went on all night and will continue throughout Saturday according to the Armed Forces.

"This will continue until we consider that we are done," Jesper Tengroth, press officer for the Swedish military, told the TT news agency on Saturday.

I wonder who disrespects national borders this time? I don't want to jump the gun or point fingers, but do the Russians here have anything to say?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Am I wrong? Don't you have to 'disrespect' someone's national borders to get from the Atlantic to the Baltic?

 

[Bugfatty300]

Am I wrong? Don't you have to 'disrespect' someone's national borders to get from the Atlantic to the Baltic?

International straits have special status.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Am I wrong? Don't you have to 'disrespect' someone's national borders to get from the Atlantic to the Baltic?

It looks like they're looking for a damaged Russian sub in the archipelago a few miles outside of Stockholm. I don't think it was looking for the Atlantic.

There's a google map in this link -
http://www.thelocal.se/20141018/sweden-hunts-for-damaged-russian-sub-report

 

[bhsup]

Don't worry, they're just lost. Not much of a maritime tradition, you see.

Spoiler :

 

[Timsup2nothin]

International straits have special status.

Ah. The problem for a submerged submarine is that their position may have a 'more or less' aspect that makes the agreed special status straight too narrow.

That from both sides. The submarine may be running their location envelope down the center of the straight, but have a large enough envelope that they are actually out of it. Whoever detected the submarine may have a pretty vague idea of where it actually is.

Looking at the map though 'near Stockholm' wouldn't have anything to do with that. It looks like the channel into the Gulf of Bothnia is only twenty miles wide though.

 

[Kyriakos]

http://www.thelocal.se/20141017/sweden-scrambles-against-foreign-activity-off-stockholm



I wonder who disrespects national borders this time? I don't want to jump the gun or point fingers, but do the Russians here have anything to say?

Hm, looking at the map... are you suggesting the sub went for a walk out of St. Petersburg?

Even if true, that is like 1/5th of the analogous sea border issues created by Erdoganland in half a week.

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Hm, looking at the map... are you suggesting the sub went for a walk out of St. Petersburg?

Even if true, that is like 1/5th of the analogous sea border issues created by Erdoganland in half a week.

I'm not suggesting that, no. Perhaps it did, who knows?

If true - it's still worth noting. The escalation by Russia the last year has been pretty disturbing.

 

[Timsup2nothin]

I'm not suggesting that, no. Perhaps it did, who knows?

If true - it's still worth noting. The escalation by Russia the last year has been pretty disturbing.

I'd guess this is more an escalation in Swedish detection than Russian operation. Subs have probably been coming and going from St Petersburg on a normal and regular basis, it's only unusual that one got detected. And I'd call that more accident than escalation on the Swedish side as well.

 

[Tahuti]

I don't want to... point fingers

Very well.

but do the Russians here have anything to say?

Objective: Not pointing any fingers - failed

 

[red_elk]

Has anybody already said that evil Ruskies did it?

 

[Loppan Torkel]

Has anybody already said that evil Ruskies did it?

It's more fun this way. Do you have any comments on the matter?

 

[Timsup2nothin]

Has anybody already said that evil Ruskies did it?

I don't consider it particularly evil myself.

Does anyone else even operate submarines in the Baltic?

Okay, I looked. Could be German. Any Germans want to account for their (estimated) four submarines?

 

[ArneHD]

Very well.



Objective: Not pointing any fingers - failed

Assuming that the submarine didn't enter the Baltic (Fairly certain that both the Danes and Swedes would have picked up on that) there are four options: Poland, Finland, Germany or Russia. Now, as I understand, three of those countries are members of the EU together with Sweden, and are on fairly good terms, not something you would describe as a threat. Leaving Russia as the main suspect.

 

[Cutlass]

Is it possible to go from the Baltic to the Atlantic without traveling some nation's waters?

 

[CavLancer]

Of course its the Russians! ...and if it happens to be US, UK, Fwench, German etc they are there because they were chasing the Russians!

 

[red_elk]

It's more fun this way. Do you have any comments on the matter?

Don't know, probably usual military stuff picked up by journalists to make breaking news out of nothing. A couple of months ago there were similar reports in Russian news about foreign submarine spotted in Barents Sea and chased away by Russian navy. May be there was some recon activity in both cases.

 

[Cheetah]

So several nations are flying their fighter jets and regularly "accidentally" crossing into each other's airspace...

Why wouldn't submarines do that as well from time to time?

PS: I'm reading that the submarine is damaged, and that it recently sent out a Russian distress call, which the Swedes picked up.

 

[CavLancer]

The French often send out Russian distress calls and then, deep under water, they giggle till they're blue. Doesn't mean they're Russian.

 

[Takhisis]

Has anybody already said that evil Ruskies did it?

Who ever said you were evil?