Photographs of the Russian gas carrier Marshal Vasilevsky, taken in May by Estonia’s border service and passed to journalists, show two heavy machine guns on board, according to Dossier. The weapons are mounted on the wheelhouse, one on each side.
The outlet identified them as 12.7 mm Kord machine guns. Sandbags can also be seen next to the firing positions, apparently providing additional protection.
Dossier says this is the first known case of a Russian civilian vessel being equipped with heavy weapons. The journalists also reviewed passenger lists dating back to August 2025 and concluded that personnel from the FSB, Rosgvardia, and the Defense Ministry are permanently present on board. The ship carried 50 people in total, and at least 24 of them have served or are serving in security structures.
Experts interviewed by the outlet said such machine guns are ineffective against aerial drones. At the same time, given that the gas carrier is based off the coast of the Kaliningrad region, the weapons may form part of Moscow’s strategy to protect the area.
A source in one of the Baltic intelligence services told the journalists that the move is “50 percent a signal to the West”: if reports spread that ships in the “shadow fleet” carry heavy machine guns, Western countries would assess the risks of any boarding attempt very differently.
The vessel is owned by Gazprom. The company did not answer questions about why the ship needed machine guns.
The report notes that the only Russian gas carrier previously attacked at sea was the Arctic Metagas tanker in the Mediterranean. In early March, a fire broke out on board, reportedly after a maritime drone strike. The crew was evacuated, and the damaged vessel was left drifting with a cargo of liquefied gas. Russian authorities say the attack was carried out by Ukrainian uncrewed boats, while France’s RFI, citing sources, also reported the involvement of Ukrainian military personnel based in Libya. Vladimir Putin described the incident as a terrorist attack.