Aug. 10 (UPI) — The U.S. Coast Guard located a Russian Navy ship sailing south of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska.
The Vishnya-class naval vessel was spotted 30 miles south of the chain of islands by the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley Monday, with officials confirming the news Saturday.
Though in international waters, the Russian Federation ship was inside the U.S. Economic Exclusion Zone or EEZ , an area of the ocean that generally extends around 200 nautical miles beyond a country’s territorial sea.
While patrolling the Aleutian Islands earlier this week, the crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley (WMEC 39) encountered a Russian Federation Vishnya-class naval vessel south of the Aleutian Islands, #Alaska .
There was no communication between the Coast Guard cutter and the Russian Federation vessel, U.S. officials said.
A Coast Guard Lockheed HC-130 long-range search and rescue aircraft joined the 283-foot Medium Endurance Cutter in observing the Russian ship until it exited the EEZ. The Alex Haley is homeported in Kodiak, Alaska.