Overview
- A Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovich, fired warning shots close to the UK-registered yacht Bright Future on Tuesday while both vessels were about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight.
- The yacht’s owners, Jane and Alan Kelvey, said they heard horn blasts and gunfire but received no radio calls or flares and were not injured; a Royal Navy seaboat later checked on their welfare and the yacht continued to Cherbourg.
- Russia’s defence ministry said its crew attempted radio contact, fired flares and used sound signals before firing shots when the yacht allegedly closed to about 150 metres; UK accounts and the yacht give a larger separation of roughly 500 yards, a central point in the inquiry.
- The UK Ministry of Defence said the shots were not aimed at the yacht and opened an investigation while Royal Navy patrols had been monitoring the Russian ship at the time.
- The episode comes after British forces interdicted the sanctioned tanker Smyrtos and highlights growing friction over Russia’s so-called shadow fleet and the rules for safe navigation and escalation in one of the world’s busiest sea lanes.