Posted on 06/11/2014 5:07:28 PM PDT by Smartisan
OSLO, NORWAY — In early March, a mysterious ship the size of a large passenger ferry left a Romanian wharf, glided through the narrow Bosporus that separates Europe and Asia, and plotted a course toward Scandinavia.
About a month later, at the fenced-in headquarters of Norway's military intelligence service, the country's spy chief disclosed its identity. It was a $250 million spy ship, tentatively named Marjata, that will be equipped with sensors and other technology to snoop on Russia's activities in the Arctic beginning in 2016.
"There is a demand from our political leadership to describe what is going on in this region," Lt. Gen. Kjell Grandhagen said in an interview at the hilltop surveillance base outside Oslo. Of particular interest, he said, are Russia's ambitions to develop oil and gas and shipping opportunities in the Arctic — and the "military aspects in terms of being able to defend that."
(Excerpt) Read more at thenewstribune.com ...
Melting Arctic?
Funny.
They build a 1000-foot long x 100 foot wide Panamax-sized ship (one able to get through the Panama Canal locks) with flat vertical sides that perfectly reflect radar waves coming from the horizon....
Then add tiny little-itty-bitty anti-radar angled masts and superstructure surface elements .....
I’m curious to see what it looks like after fitting. The ship looks like it’ll fit in a grey area; not quite warship, not quite research ship.
Personally I think Norway has gotten a head start on this one and left the rest of NATO behind. If there is one thing Norway will do unilaterally, it’s look after their oil and gas supplies.
And clearly any info gained by Norway will be shared to the UK, US, etc. Seriously, I think we need to appreciate what they’re doing here :)
I just flew back from Europe. The flight path went right over Greenland. There was a hell of a lot of ice than I’ve ever seen this time of year. I thought it was all clouds but once my eyes adjusted it was ALL ice pack. There was a only a thin band of uncovered land on the edges.
That's Funny.
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