LONDON – A Russian warship fired warning shots past a British boat on Tuesday, prompting Britain’s Defense Ministry to launch an investigation.
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Russia’s Defense Ministry in the English Channel said in a statement that Admiral Grigorovich’s commanding officer took the decision because Bright Future was “moving under engine power on a dangerous collision course towards the warship”.
Several attempts to make radio contact had failed and when the yacht did not respond, the statement said that in an attempt to attract Bright Future’s attention, “signal flares were fired and sound signals were issued”.
But when the ferry still did not change course and the distance between the two vessels decreased to less than 500 feet, the commanding officer “decided to fire small arms warning shots” in the path of Bright Future, which began to move away, the statement said.
British Ministry of Defense A statement said it was looking into reports of an incident in the English Channel, the body of water separating Britain and France.
A British official familiar with the incident said reports alleged a Russian navy ship fired warning shots about 500 yards from the British-registered yacht.
He said the incident was understood to have occurred outside British waters, about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight, a small island off the southern coast of England.
No injuries or damage have been reported by the yacht, which is continuing its voyage so they can provide more information on a sensitive international issue, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. He said it was being treated as an isolated incident.
Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Mercy was monitoring the Russian ship at the time, he said.
The incident comes just two days after the UK Defense Ministry said British forces had intercepted a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker in an effort to disrupt Moscow’s sanctions-evasion network.
On Sunday, Royal Marine Commandos and officers from Britain’s National Crime Agency boarded the ship, the Smirtos, in the English Channel, the ministry said in a statement. It said the tanker would be kept off the southern coast of England and monitored while the investigation continues.
The Defense Ministry said the operation lasted six hours and was conducted in close coordination with French authorities.
Footage shared on Twitter by Prime Minister Keir Starmer showed armed personnel landing on the ship from a helicopter. Other footage shows soldiers searching cabins with guns drawn, while officers inspect paperwork.
“This operation deals another blow to Russia and reminds Putin’s warmongers in Ukraine that they cannot hide,” Starmer said in a separate statement.
Britain and France have both pledged to intercept ships belonging to Russia’s shadow fleet that carry sanctioned Russian oil or other goods from their waters for sale on black markets elsewhere, helping Russian President Vladimir Putin finance his war efforts in Ukraine.
The Defense Ministry said Britain has so far approved about 600 shadow fleet ships, and said Russia’s oil revenues are 27% below October 2024 levels and are now at their lowest point since the start of the Ukraine war.
According to ship-tracking website MarineTraffic, the Smyrtos sails under the Cameroonian flag. The ship is currently anchored off the English seaside town of Weymouth on the southern coast of Britain.
