UK Investigates Reports of Russian Warning Shots at British Yacht in the Channel

Britain’s Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it is investigating reports that the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots at a civilian yacht flying a British flag in the English Channel. The incident was reported by the Guardian and The Associated Press, and according to the accounts it took place about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside British territorial waters.

The yacht said the Russian warship fired a warning burst roughly 500 meters away. No one was hurt, and no damage was reported. The vessel kept sailing after the encounter. The Defense Ministry said, “We are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel.” A boat from the patrol ship HMS Tyne was sent to the yacht to gather details and check on the crew’s safety.

British and AP reports said the Admiral Grigorovich was under Royal Navy surveillance during the episode, and that HMS Mersey was also tracking it. AP said Russian warships that pass through the Channel are routinely monitored. The incident came just days after British forces intercepted and detained a sanctioned oil tanker in the Channel, believed to belong to Russia’s so-called shadow fleet, in the first such British-led seizure of a sanctioned vessel since the start of the war in Ukraine.

Officials in the British security establishment said they currently view the Channel shooting report as an isolated case and are not linking it to the tanker seizure. AP also reported that the tanker’s captain, an Indian national, was accused of transporting Russian oil in breach of international sanctions and was ordered held in custody after appearing in court on Tuesday. The Guardian said the Admiral Grigorovich has frequently operated near British waters over the past year, often escorting shadow-fleet ships in the Channel and the North Sea, and sometimes being refueled off Suffolk. The ship is the first in a class of nearly 125-meter frigates, with a crew of up to 220 and a 100 mm main gun capable of firing 80 shells a minute over more than 20 kilometers. Both outlets said such warning-shot incidents are extremely rare in peacetime.