Russia is implementing a set of measures to ensure the safety of navigation, and is also working on deploying protective means on vessels and escorting them with convoys of Russian Navy ships, Presidential Aide and Chairman of the Maritime Board Nikolai Patrushev said in an interview with Kommersant.

He noted the persistent risk of terrorist and sabotage threats against vessels heading to Russian ports. Therefore, measures have been developed to protect them.

“Measures are being implemented to escort the merchant fleet with Navy ships,” Patrushev said.

As the presidential aide clarified, political, diplomatic, and legal measures are not always sufficient to counter the Western “campaign against Russian shipping.” He warned that if new threats at sea emerge from European countries, Russia will develop additional measures.

Patrushev recalled a recent incident in the Mediterranean Sea involving the Russian gas carrier Arctic Metagaz, which was attacked by Ukrainian unmanned boats.

In early March, a tanker sailing under the Russian flag with a cargo of LNG from Murmansk caught fire near Malta’s territorial waters after an attack by Ukrainian maritime drones launched from the Libyan coast. The crew was rescued.

Russia’s Ministry of Transport described Ukraine’s actions as “maritime piracy” and noted that the attack occurred with the “connivance” of EU countries.

Patrushev described the incident as an “egregious case,” which the Russian side considers an international terrorist act.