A CONTROVERSIAL SAILING ship claimed to be a sanctioned vessel was visited by gardaí early this morning when it made an unscheduled stop in County Louth. 

The Shtandart is a replica of a ship built in 1703 by Peter the Great, a Russian Tsar – was visible at anchor off the village of Killiney in south County Dublin until she departed yesterday evening.

It was built in 1999 and sails under the flag of the Cook Islands since changing its registration from Russia in June 2024.

The ship’s captain has criticised Russian President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine but Ukrainian campaigners in Ireland have claimed it is a Russian operated sail training vessel. 

The vessel, according to AIS data, made her way up the east coast and in the early hours of this morning she stopped for around four hours at Clogherhead in Co Louth.

Multiple sources have said the Shtandart was visited by gardaí during the stop off which happened between 1.30am until about 5.30am.

It is understood that sailors on the vessel told gardaí that they were taking on an emergency water supply. 

The vessel then left and is currently off the Northern Ireland coast and has set her destination on ship tracking device as Aberdeen.

Over recent days the Naval Service had hailed the vessel and asked it about its intentions.

Russian ships are banned from entering European ports due to EU sanctions that were imposed shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – in the case of the Shtandart she is impacted as she sailed under a Russian flag at the time of the invasion. The sailing vessel has no permission to land in Ireland.

Thomas Byrne, who is Minister for State at the Departments of the Taoiseach, Defence and Foreign Affairs, confirmed that the ship did not receive permissions to berth in Ireland. 

He said that the restrictions on the vessels are under EU measures and that the vessel has not applied for any derogations to permit it access to Ireland. 

The Minister said that Harbour Masters have been alerted to the restrictions on the Shtandart. 

“Apparently, this vessel has gone to Clogherhead. It hasn’t received any permission to enter Clogherhead port.

“It left Irish waters, we think this morning, and we’re looking for a report from Louth County Council on this matter.

“I can’t say specifically in respect to that vessel, but on other occasions we’ve seen hybrid measures by Russia involving this type of activity, designed to confuse, designed to, in some cases, cause chaos, but usually designed to confuse or to upset the local system and to annoy,” he said. 

A statement from the Department of Transport said: “The Coast Guard, through routine remote monitoring, observed the progress of an alleged sanctioned Russian vessel through the Irish waters. When it appeared that the vessel had entered Port Oriel, Co. Louth, the Coast Guard informed An Garda Síochána and other relevant agencies.” 

Statement have been requested from An Garda Síochána and the Shtandart.