A Russian warship fired warning shots within a few hundred metres of a British pleasure yacht sailing across the Channel on Tuesday morning amid a period of heightened tensions between London. Moscow.
The rare incident took place at 11.40am more than 20 miles south of the Isle of Wight. less than 40 miles north of Normandy, France, when the yacht, identified as the private vessel Bright Future, sailed close to the Admiral Grigorovich and ignored at least one warning.
British sources said initial indications were. more than one shot was fired by Russian sailors after the yacht had got close to the heavily armed frigate. “Following attempts to contact a British vessel in the channel, the Grigorovich fired warning shots. These were not aimed at the vessel. were an attempt to prevent a possible collision,” the Ministry of Defence said.
“We assess that this is an isolated incident and not linked to the UK’s interception of the Smyrtos this weekend. HMS Mersey has been monitoring the Russian vessel and support has been provided to the crew of the yacht.”
Russia’s defence ministry said later the yacht was on a “dangerous course”. that several attempts were made to contact it. Signal rockets were fired, the Russians said,. the yacht continued to within 150 metres before a warning shot was fired.
No injuries or damage were reported by the yacht, which continued its journey, the UK said. Those onboard were visited by a boat sent from HMS Tyne, a Royal Navy patrol vessel, to gather details. check the crew was safe.
The episode. which took place in international waters, came just days after the UK seized a Russia-linked oil tanker, the Smyrtos, off the coast of the Isle of Wight, the first time British forces have led the seizure of a sanctioned vessel since the start of the war against Ukraine.
The captain of the tanker. Ajay Pant, a 38-year-old Indian national, was charged with breaching UK sanctions on the export of Russian oil at a magistrates court in Southampton. It was carrying 98,000 tonnes of Russian crude bound for India at the time of its seizure.
On Monday. two men, who appear to have operated under the instruction of an online handler with links to Russia, were found guilty of conspiring to carry out an arson attack on property connected to Keir Starmer.
On Tuesday at the G7 summit meeting in France, the prime minister said he was pleased that “justice has now been done”,. said the attack needed to be seen in a broader context – the impact of western economic sanctions on Russia’s ability to fight in Ukraine.
The incident comes amid an ongoing row over the UK’s defence funding after the resignation of the then defence secretary. John Healey, last week.
On Tuesday, Rich Knighton, the chief of the defence staff, told a Lords committee that Britain would have to “dial back” on military operations. exercises in the next few years if the MoD did not receive extra funding from Downing Street and the Treasury.
Given the context of the incident in the Channel. British sources said they were viewing it as an isolated episode, not linked to the UK interception of the Smyrtos. Shots were not aimed at the yacht, they emphasised.
But there remains a concern. Russia may retaliate against British merchant shipping in response to the seizure of the Smyrtos. “If Russia does respond, it is likely to do so in kind,” a naval source warned.
The warship is the first in a class of frigates nearly 125 metres in length. with a crew of up to 220. Its main 100mm gun is able to fire 80 rounds a minute at a range of more than 12 miles (20km). engage multiple targets.
The Admiral Grigorovich has been regularly deployed near British waters this year. It has regularly escorted Russian shadow fleet vessels in the Channel. North Sea and refuelled off the Suffolk coast to remain near the UK.
It is normally shadowed by Royal Navy vessels when it sails close to UK territorial waters to maintain safety. It was being tracked by HMS Mersey, another offshore patrol ship, at the time.
One expert said it was an incident waiting to happen given the loitering of the Grigorovich off the British coast.
John Foreman, a former Royal Navy captain. defence attache to Moscow, said: “This may not be not Vladimir Putin’s response to the Channel seizure, but yachters should know not to sail near a Russian warship.
“Russian captains, Russian warships are always twitchy about boats coming towards them. They have a mental exclusion zone of about 500 metres. It is not unheard of for a Russian captain to fire after issuing a warning.”
On Tuesday. it was also unclear to the Royal Navy if the Russian vessel was fully in control of its movements, prompting speculation that it had suffered some form of mechanical failure, which may have heightened the crew’s nervousness.
Shooting incidents at sea are extremely rare in peacetime. though warning shots are considered a legitimate way for navies to deter other vessels from approaching. But it is not known when shots were last fired in the Channel in a maritime incident.
Martin Kelly. head of advisory at crisis management firm EOS risk, said warships, regardless of their country of origin, were entitled to self-defence.
Typically, the rules of escalation start with a VHF radio warning, and, he said, “if there is no response the next escalation is a more intense warning,. then up to warning shots, which is where we got to here”.
James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, said the incident was “very concerning”. the UK should “be in no doubt that Russia poses a direct threat”.
James MacCleary, for the Liberal Democrats, said: “Russia is quite literally on our doorstep. Aggression and intimidation in our waters must not be tolerated.”
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