Russia’s Mysterious Interest in Old Shipwrecks

For almost a decade, the Russian navy has been visiting World War II-era shipwrecks, removing military equipment in what some argue is a violation of international law, restoring it and displaying it in military parades and museums, according to an analysis of satellite imagery.

The haul has included six to 10 tanks taken from two US cargo ships, the SS Thomas Donaldson and SS Ballot, which were torpedoed by the Nazis while they were in military service and now lie in Russian territorial waters at the bottom of the Barents Sea, according to the Maritime Observatory, a nonprofit initiative that uses satellite imagery, vessel-tracking signals and artificial intelligence to protect underwater cultural heritage. In addition to Sherman and M3 Lee tanks, Russia has taken away guns and an entire train, using a large tool known as a grabber.