UK yacht encounter with Russian warship raises security concerns in English Channel

A British couple on a yacht near the Isle of Wight had a close encounter with a Russian warship that fired warning shots, intensifying national security concerns.

The English Channel has become the latest flashpoint in the escalating tensions between the UK and Russia. In a dramatic incident, a Russian warship fired warning shots near a UK-registered yacht, sending shockwaves through the maritime community and raising serious security concerns.

The incident, which occurred on Tuesday morning, involved the Russian Frigate Admiral Grigorovich and a yacht named Bright Futureregistered in the UK. The yacht’s occupants, Jane and Alan Kelveydescribed the experience as “surreal” in an interview with BBC Newsnight.

The Incident: A Close Encounter

The Kelveys were sailing approximately 23 miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight when they came into close proximity with the Russian frigate. The warship initially attempted to make contact by sounding five blasts on its horn, a universal signal to check if the yacht had seen them.

“We immediately turned two degrees to port so they could see we had made a deliberate change of course,” Jane Kelvey recounted. “That meant we had seen them.” However, the situation escalated when the warship sounded another five blasts, followed by four to five small arms fire.

The Kelveys emphasized that the gunfire was not aimed at them but was instead warning fire intended to alert them to the warship’s presence. “That wasn’t aimed at us – it was warning fire that went up in the air, we believe,” Jane Kelvey stated.

Statements from Both Sides

The Russian Defence Ministry issued a statement claiming that the yacht had been on a dangerous approach towards the warship. They stated that the crew of the Admiral Grigorovich had fired into the yacht’s path with rifles after several attempts to contact it over the radio and after launching warning flares.

The ministry maintained that its sailors had acted in “strict accordance with international shipping regulations.” However, the Kelveys disputed this, stating that their yacht was “definitely not on a collision course.” Jane Kelvey called the gunfire “completely unnecessary” and reported the incident as a hazard to navigation.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) told the BBC that the incident was an “isolated incident” and that the warning shots were not aimed at the vessel but were an attempt to prevent a possible collision.

Broader Context and Implications

This incident comes at a time of heightened tension between the UK and Russia. Last week, a Nato source told BBC Verify that the Admiral Grigorovich had been ordered by Moscow to escort shadow fleet vessels through the Channel. The frigate has been operating in the area for some time and has been repeatedly re-supplied by a repair vessel.

Satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify have shown the repair vessel, the PM-82operating between the Channel and the North Sea in recent months. Nato officials believe the PM-82 delivered food, water, and other supplies to the Admiral Grigorovich, allowing it to stay at sea for extended periods and lead Russian convoys through the Channel.

In April, the frigate was reported to have escorted six shadow fleet vessels through the waterway while being monitored by the Royal Navy. The Royal Navy previously stated that the Grigorovich escorted Russian-flagged vessels heading to and from the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Baltic, including “one submarine and around six merchant and support vessels.”

James Parkina former Royal Navy rear admiral, suggested that the use of armed force is a last resort, reserved only for self-defence. “I would not be surprised if it was a miscalculation, rather than a deliberate act to try and fire on a British yacht very close to British waters,” he told BBC News.

While the MoD has assessed that Tuesday’s incident was not linked to the seizure of the Russian shadow fleet tanker at the weekend, Parkin noted that the seizure had been a “huge embarrassment” for Moscow, given there “is a Russian navy ship in the English Channel who is only there to stop this kind of thing happening.”

Coming at a time of heightened tension between the UK and Russia, and on the day when two departing UK defence ministers, in their resignation speeches, sounded the alarm about Russia’s increasingly aggressive behaviour, this relatively minor incident has, perhaps inevitably, been magnified.