MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. Security services thwarted a terrorist attack at the port of Ust-Luga in Russia’s Leningrad Region after discovering that the hull of a tanker coming from Belgium was covered in bombs, the press office of the Federal Security Service (FSB) reported.

TASS has compiled the key information known at this time.

Foiled terrorist attack

- The FSB, in coordination with the Investigative Committee, the Defense Ministry, and the Russian National Guard, thwarted a terrorist attack on the Arrhenius gas carrier that had arrived from the Belgian port of Antwerp at the port of Ust-Luga in the Leningrad Region for loading, after which it was scheduled to continue on to the Turkish port of Samsun, the FSB press office reported.

- According to Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko, the vessel entered the seaport on May 20.

- During an underwater inspection of part of the gas carrier’s hull, divers discovered foreign objects attached to magnets near the engine room that resembled explosive devices.

- Upon closer inspection with an underwater drone, specialists from the interagency bomb disposal team determined that the objects were explosive devices manufactured in the style of naval magnetic mines, presumably in one of the NATO countries, using industrially produced components, the FSB emphasized.

- According to intelligence reports, each device contained approximately seven kilograms of plastic explosive.

- A video released by the FSB press office showed that the magnetic mines were attached to the gas carrier’s hull in several places.

Investigation

- During questioning of the vessel’s captain, it was revealed that, before unloading at the Belgian port, the shipping agent had directed the ship to an anchorage, where it remained for about a day and a half, allegedly due to a port workers’ strike.

- According to experts’ assessments, the magnetic mines could not have been planted in Russian territorial waters, the FSB noted.

- Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko agreed that based on preliminary investigations, it can be concluded that the magnetic mines could not have been planted in Russian territorial waters.

- The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case on two counts: attempted terrorist act and illegal trafficking of explosive devices.

- A comprehensive investigation and operational search measures are currently underway to identify all those involved in the crime, Petrenko noted.

Statement by Ust-Luga’s port captain

- All crew members of the Arrhenius vessel are on board and ready to begin cargo operations, the Ust-Luga port captain reported.

- He stated that two mines were discovered in the stern of the vessel.