Alleged Russian Operatives Used Commercial Cargo Ships To Scout UK Military Sites, Reports Say

Reports: Russian Operatives Traveled On Ordinary Cargo Vessels To Reconnoitre UK Sites

Two men believed to be Russian intelligence operatives are reported to have entered the UK aboard commercial cargo ships during the spring and summer of 2025, according to reporting by the i newspaper and cited NATO and UK defence sources. The pair are alleged to have visited areas close to key military bases and sensitive government infrastructure after arriving at ports including Torquay, Middlesbrough and Grangemouth.

Unconventional routes: Sources say the suspects deliberately avoided heavily monitored border entry points by exploiting ordinary merchant shipping routes. The vessels involved were reportedly not Russian-flagged and were not part of the sanctioned "shadow fleet," which made their movements less likely to attract scrutiny.

"It would be the most natural place to move people around in that world, and we think it's going on," a senior NATO official told the i paper, describing low-profile cargo ships as an ideal way of moving personnel discreetly.

The official added: "They are not sailing on shadow fleet tankers, they are sailing on all [types of] ships," and said intelligence agencies had seen operatives using non-suspicious merchant vessels and testing European ports to identify weaknesses.

Reported movements: One suspected operative is reported to have sailed from Finland and landed in Torquay. The other, previously observed in Moscow at a facility linked to intelligence services, is believed to have travelled from Kaliningrad and entered the UK through Middlesbrough and the Grangemouth facility in the north-east. After spending time near a storage facility at Grangemouth, that individual later went to Falkirk and visited a retail park.

Security implications: Both Middlesbrough and Grangemouth docks have been identified by the UK Ministry of Defence as potential sites for future weapons-manufacturing facilities. Currently classed as brownfield sites, their unused status has heightened concerns about the security implications of the alleged visits.

Elisabeth Braw of the Intelligence Council and a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council told the i paper that it is logical for Russian intelligence to exploit such vulnerabilities: "It doesn’t surprise me that Russia wants to bring certain people into the country even though they can reach people who are already there. They need their own operatives to conduct this sort of activity."

UK and allied officials are reportedly reviewing how commercial shipping lanes can be abused to move personnel and are reassessing port-site security, particularly at brownfield locations earmarked for defence projects. The case underscores growing NATO concerns about hybrid tactics that blend maritime concealment with onshore surveillance of critical infrastructure.