It appears the Russian military moved some of their trained beluga whales to Olenya Bay, off the coast of the Barents Sea earlier this year and satellite images show there has been unusual increased security around the pens to make sure the current whales cannot escape.
This may have arisen due to a lone beluga turning up around Hammerfest in Finnmark county, Norway in late April, wearing a harness with mounts for a GoPro camera. The harness label read ‘Equipment St. Petersburg’. Now named Hvaldimir, questions have been raised to whether the whale, initially wild-caught many years ago, was part of military operations but escaped while the pens were being moved from Goryachie Ruchy to the new location in Olenya Bay – or was he brought to Norwegian waters on purpose?
The new marine pens which have visible mooring ropes and lines to each side from the two pens, with additional ropes in between the mooring lines are near Russia’s 29th Special Submarine Squadrona Russian submarine base that primarily conducts underwater research and spy operations.
If the beluga whale had escaped during relocation, he would have travelled 310 miles to reach the Norwegian territories where he was first spotted by local fishermen. The mystery continues.
