A Russian spy ship spotted "loitering" off Virginia in the last month has traveled south and was seen on Thursday about 150 miles off Florida heading toward the Caribbean, the U.S. officials told to Fox News. The Viktor Leonov was southeast of the U.S. Naval Station Mayport, the officials said.

In the past, whenever the ship sailed close to the Florida, U.S. Navy aircraft would fly from the Jacksonville to take a look. Officials said to expect the same response in this time around. The United States territorial waters extend 12 nautical miles from the shore.

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Fox News was first to report the sighting of the Russian spy ship off the coast of the Delaware in mid-February. When the ship "loitered" near to Norfolk, Va., it was about 19 miles from the land, U.S. officials said.

The Victor Leonov was armed with an array of intelligence gathering equipment used to intercept the communications and analyze U.S. Navy sonar capability. "It’s lawful [and] similar to operations we do around the world," Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told to the reporters last month.

The Russian spy ship left its homeport in the Barents Sea near Norway, part of the Russia’s northern fleet, around New Year’s Day, according to the American defense officials. Following a port call in the Jamaica, Russian ship then began its voyage to north along the east coast of the United States before turning to south.

The ship was spotted in the Havana Harbor in January 2015 as Obama administration eased relations with the Cuba.

Mrudula Duddempudi.