Reply to post: Re: ... the area is rarely visited by boats with location-transmitting AIS equipment switched on ...

Russia's naval exercise near Ireland unlikely to involve cable-tapping shenanigans

I ain't Spartacus Gold badge

Re: ... the area is rarely visited by boats with location-transmitting AIS equipment switched on ...

One of the things the Royal Navy discovered in the 70s Cod War with Iceland is how tough some fishing boats are. The Icelandic fishermen were not fucking around, and would regularly deliberately ram UK frigates and destroyers. They didn't do huge damage, but did make holes in the sides of the ships, forcing them to return to port.

Modern warships aren't armoured, they rely on comparmentalisation and rendundency to survive damage. Ocean going trawlers have quite strong pointy ends, to cope with all the Atlantic can throw at them. The only way to reliably stop it happening was to shoot them, which the RN weren't going to do. Now the Russians might be willing to shoot, but that would be illegal, and they'd be doing so while very lonely and right in NATO's backyard. Very close to the French and British navies and airforces - and very far from their own. Plus in Ireland's EEZ, hence the Irish having the exclusive legal right to fish there.

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