Factory-made marine magnetic mines made in one of the NATO countries were installed on the Arrhenius gas carrier that arrived from Belgium. This was stated by the official representative of the Russian Investigative Committee Svetlana Petrenko.
"The investigative bodies of the Western Interregional Investigation Department for Transport of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation initiated a criminal case on the grounds of crimes under Part 3 of Article 30, paragraph "a" of part 2 of Article 205 of the Criminal Code (attempted terrorist act) and paragraph "a" of part 3 of Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code (illegal trafficking of explosive devices)", — Petrenko noted.
According to the investigation, when the Arrhenius vessel entered the port of Ust-Luga, Leningrad Region, it was inspected.
"Divers found explosive devices on the hull of the tanker. It has been established that these are sea magnetic mines, factory-made, made in one of the NATO countries. Employees of the FSB of Russia, in cooperation with the Ministry of Defense and the Rosgvardiya, they were neutralized," the official representative of the Investigative Committee of Russia said.
As Petrenko emphasized, it was established that the vessel left the port of Antwerp of the Kingdom of Belgium for refueling at the seaport of Ust-Luga, where it entered on May 20, after which it was supposed to go to the port of Samsun of the Republic of Turkey.
"During the interrogation of the ship's agent, it became known that the ship had arrived in Russia with a delay of several days from the planned date," she stated.
At the same time, it should be emphasized that based on the results of the initial investigative actions, it can already be concluded that the installation of magnetic mines could not have occurred in Russian territorial waters.
Currently, a complex of investigative actions and operational-search measures is being carried out aimed at identifying all those involved in the commission of the crime.