A Russian spy ship was spotted operating in an “unsafe” manner on Tuesday off the southeast coast of the United States, according to the Jacksonville, Florida, branch of the U.S. Coast Guard. The USCG said it has received reports from commercial ships over the past few days alerting it about the Russian ship’s behavior.
The USCG said it received reports the RFN Viktor Leonov was “not energizing running lights while in reduced visibility conditions, not responding to hails by commercial vessels attempting to coordinate safe passage and other erratic movements,” according to a statement from Captain Mark R. Vlaun.