A Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Barbers Point monitors a Russian military vessel approximately 15 nautical miles south of Oahu on Oct. 29, 2025. Coast Guard personnel are monitoring the vessel’s activities near U.S. territorial waters, which extend to 12 miles offshore. (U.S. Coast Guard)
(Tribune News Service) — A Russian naval spy ship seen two weeks ago in international waters off Oahu was spotted Thursday lurking 17 miles off Hawaii island.
The Coast Guard announced Thursday that it detected the Kareliya’s presence Oct. 29 off Oahu but made no mention that it remains near the island chain, just outside U.S. territorial waters within about 14 miles from shore. Beyond that is considered international waters.
In response, the Coast Guard dispatched an HC-130 Hercules plane from Air Station Barbers Point, which conducted a “professional overflight, ” and sent the Cutter William Hart, which transited near the foreign vessel.
The Vladivostok-based ship is one of seven Vishnya-class intelligence-gathering ships built in the 1980s for the Soviet navy, which the Russian Federation navy continues to operate. The ships are equipped with an extensive array of sensors and are able to transmit data to shore by satellite.
They also are armed with two AK-630 close-in weapon systems and surface-to-air missile launchers, according to a U.S. government website.
Coast Guard Capt. Matthew Chong would not specify the vessel’s location or whether it remains near Hawaii waters, saying, “The Coast Guard continues to monitor vessel activity in the area to protect our maritime domain. We are unable to provide real-time updates on operations or intentions of foreign assets.
When asked why the information was not released sooner and whether it required clearance from other branches of the military, Chong replied that the Coast Guard works “with U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and interagency partners to constantly monitor the activity of foreign vessels operating near U.S. territorial waters.”
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser asked both the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command and the Coast Guard whether they are concerned about the ship’s presence and whether Hawaii residents should be concerned.
Chong reiterated that the Coast Guard works with the Indo-Pacific Command and “continues to monitor the maritime borders and approaches to the United States to ensure the safety and security of U.S. waters and the protection of our citizens.”
Lt. Cmdr. Chloe Morgan, spokesperson for the Indo-Pacific Command, said it is monitoring a Russian military vessel and “continuously tracks all vessels and aircraft in the region using joint capabilities to protect the U.S. homeland, support allies and partners, and ensure adherence to international law in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific.”
The command’s area of responsibility stretches from the waters off the U.S. West Coast to the western border of India, and from Antarctica to the North Pole.
Chong said the agencies “constantly monitor the activity of foreign military vessels operating near U.S. territorial waters, regardless of the vessels’ capabilities or intentions.”
“The Coast Guard has observed similar vessels operating in our area of responsibility, including in 2023, ” he said.
In January 2023, the Coast Guard for weeks monitored a Russian vessel believed to be an intelligence-gathering ship loitering off the Hawaiian Islands.
In May 2021, the Navy tracked the Kareliya, which was operating around 15 miles off Kauai near the Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands. The presence of the Russian surveillance ship briefly delayed a U.S. missile defense test at the Barking Sands facility.
In June 2021, another Russian auxiliary general intelligence ship was reported north of Oahu, but it was unclear whether it was the Kareliya.
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