Swedish Officials Think They Know Where This 'Foreign Vessel' Came From: Report

The search is on for a possible Russian submarine off the coast of Stockholm, Sweden, and officials there think they might know who sent it.

As the search 44 miles into the open Baltic Sea continues, Russia is denying responsibility and  instead passing blame along to the Netherlands. However, Russia hasn't convinced the Swedish defense ministry, Foxtrot Alpha reported.

Swedish forces released the following photo Sunday showing what it claims to be a "foreign vessel" off the coast of Sweden's capital. A person wearing all black and a backpack also emerged from the water onto land.

A partially submerged object is visible in the water at center, in the Stockholm archipelago, Sweden. The Swedish military said Sunday it had made three credible sightings of foreign undersea activity in its waters during the past few days amid reports of a suspected Russian intrusion in the area. (AP Photo/Swedish Armed Forces via TT News Agency)

"Subsequently, the military and police dog handlers searched the area where the observations were made," read one Swedish newspaper Sunday, translated by Google Translate. But defense ministry spokesman Mattias Robertson couldn't offer any information on the finding.

The NS Concorde ship arrived off the coast of Sweden Oct. 4 and is operated by the Russian state-owned shipping company whose CEO is a close friend to Russian President Vladamir Putin. Another Russian research vessel, Professor Logachev, has since appeared in Baltic waters although its transponders appear to now be off, Foxtrot Alpha reported. 

If the ship does turn out to be associated with the suspected Russian submarine, it wouldn't be the only one Russia has stationed near Sweden. The Kremlin has several other submarines positioned near Kaliningrad, a Russian enclave just across the Baltic Sea from Sweden. Russia also submarines stationed near Murmansk on the Kola peninsula, a part of Russia which is only separated from Sweden by Finland, BBC reported.

Kaliningrad (Image source: Google Maps)

Murmansk (Image source: Google Maps)

(H/T: Foxtrot Alpha)

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