Kapitan Man
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The Kapitan Man (Russian: Капитан Ман) is a former Soviet-era multi-purpose merchant ship (call sign UIFU).
She was constructed in Finland in 1985 with a dead weight of about 22845 tonnes. Part of a series of ships, she was designed to navigate the Arctic waters and is fitted with an ice-breaking bow. The ship is currently registered and operating under the Russian flag. The ship is named after the Soviet polar explorer, captain Ivan Man (1903-1982) [1].
On 4 April 1997, the ship was a part of the Strait of Juan de Fuca laser incident between the Russian crew and Canadian and American military. The ship has long been suspected of conducting covert espionage operations either for hire, or for the Russian military. Kapitan Man is owned by the Far East Shipping Company -- a cargo outfit based in Vladivostok, Russia with known ties to the Russian military. As further evidence of the espionage being conducted by FESCO, a joint U.S. Customs and Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) inspection of the Kapitan Man in April, 1993 found environmental data equipment - including sophisticated sonar equipment - used solely to conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW).[2]
