A Russian frigate fired warning shots with small arms near the UK-registered sailing yacht Bright Future in the English Channel after failing to get a response, according to Russia’s defense ministry. A retired British couple onboard said the vessels were not
A Russian guided-missile frigate opened fire in the English Channel on Tuesday, firing warning shots with small arms near a civilian yacht, authorities said—turning what the crew described as a routine passage into a moment of sudden fear at sea.
The Russian defense ministry said the warship Admiral Grigorovich fired shots in the path of the Bright Future. a UK-registered sailing yacht. In its statement. the ministry said the frigate had attempted to contact the Bright Future using radio. signal flares. and sound signals. but opened fire after receiving no response and seeing the yacht “following a dangerous course.”.
The ministry described the sequence of events in operational terms: after closing the distance to 150 meters, the frigate’s commander decided to conduct “preemptive fire” at the vessel’s course with small arms.
Onboard the Bright Future were retired British couple Jane and Alan Kelvey. They told the BBC they were sailing 23 miles from the coast of the Isle of Wight when they encountered the warship.
Jane Kelvey said the two vessels were not on a collision course and that the Bright Future had adjusted its path after the Admiral Grigorovich issued five horn blasts.
The incident comes after the UK’s Royal Marines seized the MV Smyrtos, a tanker believed to be part of Russia’s shadow fleet, off the southern coast of England on Sunday. The UK defense ministry said the Tuesday warning shots and the seizure were isolated incidents.
Still. the two events landed in a wider pattern that has repeatedly been reported: the Russian navy escorting shadow fleet tankers in convoys. The Admiral Grigorovich was spotted convoying two tankers in the English Channel in April. just after UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer gave British forces authority to seize shadow fleet vessels.
The Admiral Grigorovich is a 409-foot-long guided-missile frigate and the lead ship of its class, commissioned in 2016. Its main armament consists of eight vertical launch cells for land-attack cruise missiles and a 100mm naval gun.
In the UK operation involving the MV Smyrtos, the boarding was described as a first for the UK, involving two British warships, reconnaissance aircraft, and helicopters. Military helicopters boarded the MV Smyrtos off the coast of Portland.
With Tuesday’s episode centered on a civilian yacht and the use of horn blasts. flares. and small-arms warning fire. the dispute between what the Russian side says happened and what the sailors describe became the story’s most immediate dividing line—150 meters at sea. and two accounts of whether the danger was inevitable or avoidable.
Russia British yacht English Channel Admiral Grigorovich warning shots Bright Future shadow fleet MV Smyrtos Royal Marines Isle of Wight Keir Starmer
So the “warning shots” were really just shooting at a boat? Wild.
I don’t get why they couldn’t just hail them better. If they were “following a dangerous course” then why not guide them off like normal??
Maybe the yacht was messing around with the radio or didn’t hear the flares or whatever, and then the frigate was like “preemptive fire” like that’s a thing in international waters. Also the horn blasts thing sounds like it was close enough for sure, so I’m guessing there’s missing context.
This is just more of that shadow fleet stuff right? Like they’re trying to scare everyone away from the channel. I swear every time I see these stories it’s always “isolated incidents” but then it keeps happening…