The U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday it’s monitoring and tracking a suspected Russian intelligence vessel off the coast of Hawaii amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington over the conflict in Ukraine.
“In recent weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard has continued to monitor a Russian vessel, believed to be an intelligence gathering ship, off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands,” the USCG said in a news release.
It noted that foreign military ships can move “freely through the U.S. economic zone” under international law but said that “foreign-flagged military vessels have often been observed operating and loitering within Coast Guard District Fourteen’s area of response.” The Coast Guard added that it is monitoring the situation….