OSLO CARRIER 3

General information

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Latest news

Russian linked ship under spotlight after drone incidents

The "Oslo Carrier 3" has come under the spotlight after the drone incidents in Denmark The cargo ship, which is owned by a shipping company headquartered in Oslo, has until recently been listed in the Norwegian International Ship Register (NIS). In July, the Norwegian Maritime Directorate received notification that the shipping company wanted to re-flag the ship from the Norwegian to the Portuguese flag. This process was completed on Sep 24, and the ship is now registered in Portugal. During the drone attack on Kastrup, this cargo ship was seven kilometers away. The same ship was also on the Danish police radar in January 2025, when drones were observed over the port of Køge. When the ship was mentioned in internal police reports, it was still sailing under the Norwegian flag. A spokesperson for the company told on Sep 25 that there was a crew of mixed nationality, including Russians, on board. The ship was registered in the NIS register with a Russian captain in Dec 2022, around ten months after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. When calling at ports in Norway earlier this year, the crew list on at least one occasion consisted exclusively of Russian citizens. The company has been asked whether the cargo ship is still sailing with a Russian captain, and to what extent the ship has a Russian crew. The Managing Director Jan Rune Mørken did not want to answer any questions, and spokesperson Kristin Wilhelmsen refers to an article posted on the company's website, which stated that the ship was inspected upon arrival in Klaipeda on Sep 24 by both border guards and NATO personnel. The authorities left the vessel without comment, the shipping company wrote. Danwatch on Sep 26 linked the Norwegian company to a Russian paramilitary group. The Bulkship Management confirms the link and said that this concerned guard duty back in time. The company has an office in Kaliningrad that recruits Russian seafarers for the company's ships. The 'Oslo Carrier 3' left Klaipeda again on Sep 27 en route to Hamina, where it arrived on Sep 29 and continued to Bejaia on Oct 1.

Three ships under suspicion of drone attack on Copenhagen airport

The cargo m/v 'Astrol 1' (IMO: 9906544) was among three vessels which were suspected of launching large drones that shut down Copenhagen Airport, forcing 150 flights to be cancelled or diverted, on the night of Sep 22, 2025. The investigation into the unprecedented drone assault on Copenhagen Airport has identified three suspicious vessels that were positioned in strategic locations during the incident that paralyzed one of Northern Europe’s busiest aviation hubs. The sanctioned ' Astrol 1' sailed through the Øresund Strait at that time and made several irregular maneuvers. The vessel’s unusual behaviour during the precise timeframe of the drone attacks has placed it at the center of the international investigation. The ship’s movements through the waterway coincided with the appearance of multiple large drones over the Kastrup Airport, suggesting potential coordination between maritime and aerial operations. The tanker 'Pushpa' (IMO: 9332810), sailing under the flag of Benin and sanctioned for transporting Russian oil, was another vessel considered suspicious by investigators. The ship was monitored for four hours by a German NATO warship, indicating the serious security concerns surrounding its presence during the drone incident. The 'Oslo Carrier 3' was positioned seven kilometers from Kastrup Airport while the drones were being pursued by authorities. Several Russian-speaking crew members were among the ship’s crew, and the vessel’s owner maintains offices in Kaliningrad, Russia. The ship’s proximity to the airport during the active drone pursuit, combined with its Russian connections, has made it a key focus of the expanding international investigation. The drone attack on Copenhagen Airport resulted in approximately 150 flights being cancelled or diverted, representing one of the most significant aviation security incidents in Scandinavian history. The scale of the disruption underscores the effectiveness of the coordinated assault on critical infrastructure. Kastrup Airport, which handles nearly 30 million passengers annually, was forced into complete shutdown mode as authorities responded to multiple large drones operating in controlled airspace around the facility. France has also reported the appearance of unknown drones near a military base – no official conclusions about direct involvement have yet been made. Also on the night of September 24–25, Aalborg Airport in Denmark was temporarily closed due to the drone threat. In the past few days, also the landing ship “Alexander Shabalin” was observed near Denmark’s territorial waters, l between the southern tip of Langeland and Lolland, suggesting that the ship could have served as a base for supplying drones. The amphibious ship, designed to carry about 340 soldiers and ten tanks, remained untracked due to the AIS being off. The “Alexander Shabalin,” belongs to the Russian Baltic Fleet. The police took into account the presence of the 'Alexander Shabalin' near Danish territorial waters when investigating the incidents with drones.

Mevedev, close confidant of Putin, falsely accused Norwegian ship of refusing assistance

After the Russian heavy load carrier "Ursa Major" sank after several explosions between Spain and Algeria, the Norwegian freighter 'Oslo Carrier 3' assisted a rescue boat. However, the former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, a close confidant of Vladimir Putin, accused the Norwegian shipping company Bulkship Management refusing to take on board crew members of the ship. Bulkship Management immediately denied the accusation. The lifeboat with the 14 survivors was moored to the "Oslo Carrier 3", sailing nearby, until a ship from the Spanish Coastguard arrived, which ordered that the sailors not be taken on board because it was on its way, Bulkship Management explained in a statement. "The weather was good, none of the sailors in the lifeboat were injured and they were not in immediate danger." To support its account, the Norwegian shipping company has published two photos: one shows the lifeboat moored to the side of the "Oslo Carrier 3", the other shows it being towed by a Spanish ship. Medvedev, on the other hand, portrayed the behaviour of the crew of the Norwegian ship as part of Europe's alleged anti-Russian measures. "What is there to explain? This is unforgivable. The behaviour must be punished with all available means" wrote the vice-chairman of the Russian Security Council.Medvedev also demanded that so-called hybrid attacks be used. This generally includes the use of acts of sabotage. Such an act may have occurred as recently as Dec 25, when the Estlink 2 power connection between Estonia and Finland was interrupted. Finnish investigators on Dec 26 seized the tanker "Eagle S", loaded with Russian oil, which is suspected of having damaged the cable. The ship belongs to the so-called Russian shadow fleet - tankers and other cargo ships that Russia uses unofficially to circumvent sanctions, for example when transporting oil. After the sinking, Oboronlogistika spoke of a terrorist act. The ship was not overloaded, the company was quoted in Russian media as saying. Instead, the surviving crew members reported three consecutive explosions on the starboard side. Oboronlogistika and SK-Yug, the operator of the freighter, were sanctioned by the US in 2022 because of their ties to the Russian military. Photos: https://bulkship.no/737-2/