In February 2017, reports that a Russian intelligence gathering vessel had been spotted off the coast of Long Island quickly became national news. While the ship remained in international waters and violated no laws, its presence near the Northeast coastline drew significant attention from government officials, the media, and residents throughout the New York metropolitan area. The article below has been preserved as a snapshot of that moment in time.
Photo: By Tim Hettler from New York, NY, USA (Montauk Point Lighthouse) [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
A Russian Intelligence Ship Off Long Island
On the morning of Wednesday, February 15, 2017, the Russian warship SSV-175 Viktor Leonov was spotted thirty miles off the coast of Long Island, New York. Just imagine that you had rented a fishing charter off Montauk Point and suddenly ran into a Russian warship. Well, it was more than imaginable because the Russian Navy came pretty close while remaining in international waters not far from Montauk Point.
The Russian warship had been spotted a day earlier, seventy miles off the coast of Delaware. Within twenty-four hours, the vessel sailed north into the waters surrounding the New York metropolitan area. The Long Island sighting occurred near the United States Submarine Base in Groton, Connecticut. According to United States government sources at the time, the Russian warship SSV-175 Viktor Leonov was equipped with communications intelligence-gathering capabilities.
The Russian warship did not violate international law because it never crossed into the United States territorial waters. However, its proximity to the Long Island coast raised concerns among various politicians and government officials. Congressman Peter King of Seaford stated that it was Russia trying to be provocative while urging continued vigilance.
Lt. Col. Valerie Henderson, speaking for the United States Department of Defense, stated that the Russian warship had not entered United States territorial waters.
At the time, Representative Lee Zeldin of Shirley argued that Russia’s continued aggression posed a direct threat.
Looking back today, the sighting serves as a reminder of how quickly Cold War imagery returned to public discussion during 2017. Although no confrontation occurred, the appearance of a Russian intelligence vessel so close to Long Island generated headlines across the country and remains an interesting chapter in recent New York history.
Updated June 26, 2026
