MV NS Concord is a Russian owned, Liberian-flagged oil tanker that gained notoriety in 2014 after it was allegedly connected to the submarine search in the Stockholm archipelago.[1]
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | NS Concord |
| Owner | SCF Novoship, Novorossiysk, Russia |
| Port of registry |  Liberia |
| Builder | Hyundai Heavy Industries, Korea |
| Laid down | 2005 |
| Launched | 1 February 2005 |
| Acquired | April 20, 2005 |
| Identification |
|
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Aframax C-Class |
| Tonnage | 105,902 DWT |
| Length | 243.97 m. |
| Beam | 42.03 m. |
| Depth | 21.00 m. |
| Speed | 15.00 |
The oil tanker arrived in the area on October 4 but was later charted as zigzagging across the seas, as if searching for something.[2] The vessel "could be a mothership for a possible submarine," according to Stefan Ring, an expert on military strategies at The Swedish National Defence College. "It is possible to use a ship like this as a mothership for mini submarines. Sailing under another flag could be to hide what they really are doing," Ring said.[3] However, Anders Nordin at the Swedish Coastguard told news agency TT that the NS Concord's movements were consistent with normal tanker movements.[4]
NS Concord belongs to the Russian shipping company SCF Novoship, based in Novorossiysk on the Black Sea. The company is in turn part of the state-owned OAO Sovcomflot, one of the world's largest oil transport companies, whose CEO, Sergei Frank, is a close confidant of Russian President Vladimir Putin.[5]
References
edit- ^ 'Russian submarine spotted' by Swedish military off coast of Stockholm, The Independent, October 20, 2014.
- ^ Sweden hunts damaged Russian sub: report, The Local, October 18, 2014.
- ^ Suspected foreign underwater activity, Expressen, October 19, 2014.
- ^ No let-up in search for foreign vessel, The Local, October 20, 2014.
- ^ Sweden hunts for suspected Russian submarine in Cold War-style drama, The Daily Telegraph, October 19, 2014.