Divers accidentally find Russian spy device off the coast of Wales

2025-11-24 19:10:51Kosova&Bota SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
Divers accidentally find Russian spy device off the coast of Wales
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A team of divers collecting debris have recovered what is believed to be a Russian tracking device off the coast of Wales.

Divers from the Neptune Army of Refuse Clearance (NARC) in Britain discovered the object on November 15 during a routine dive in the Skomer Marine Conservation Area, near Wooltack Point in Pembrokeshire.

The team initially assumed the device was part of a navigation marker, but later suspected it resembled a sonobuoy - an acoustic monitoring device, often used to detect submarines.

An independent defense analyst said he was "convinced" the recovered object was an exploded Russian RGB-1A sonophobe.

Dave Kennard, chairman of NARC, said the object was discovered stuck in a canal by volunteer diver Tim Smith-Gosling, the BBC reports.

After further inspections and research, including discussions with colleagues at the Port Authority Watershed, the divers concluded that the object bore similarities to sonophores used for underwater reconnaissance.

The device, described by Kennard as "damaged", is approximately 120cm long and weighs around 15kg.

Kennard, who was acting as dive marshal that day, said the team was able to identify comparable finds reported in Cornwall and the Republic of Ireland in 2021.

After consulting with a former Royal Navy contact, Kennard followed the advised protocol of reporting the discovery to HM Coastguard.

A spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency confirmed that the report was recorded on November 19, but said that "no one was reported to be in danger or in difficulty and the communication was recorded, without requiring a search and rescue response."


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