“Putin’s hearing aide” – recovered Russian submarine gear on display at Pacific Fishermen Shipyard

Through the chain link fence at Pacific Fishermen’s Shipyard, you can see this device which was recovered off the coast in 2005.

The only article about the incident that I could find is from the Bellingham Herald, and is reprinted in this Facebook post:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/292825605597810/?multi_permalinks=1307595130787514&hoisted_section_header_type=recently_seen

“The U.S. Navy plans to take a closer look at a piece of Russian submarine gear recovered July 12 by a fishing trawler off the Olympic Peninsula. The Navy took custody of the missile-shaped communications device with stubby fins shortly after Erik Eide, skipper of the Windjammer, reported his unusual find.”

The sign says “telephone cable listening device”, but according to the article it’s not quite as nefarious as that:

“It was designed to be towed behind a submerged sub on a cable, providing sonar readings for the undersea vessel’s sonar blind spot dead astern. It could also be floated to the surface, transmitting signals to communications satellites while the sub itself remained submerged.”

I was in Ballard with some Russian friends visiting, so I took them by there to thank them for the display piece.