The UK Ministry of Defense has confirmed that it is investigating possible warning bursts fired by a Russian frigate, the Admiral Grigorovichless than 500 meters from a British yacht. The incident took place this Tuesday, about 20 miles from the Isle of Wight, in the south of the country.
“We are investigating information about a possible incident in the English Channel,” confirmed the British Government, which does not link what happened to those same waters.
British Royal Navy commandos intercepted the oil tanker early Sunday morning, which according to the British Government was one of hundreds of vessels used by Moscow to illegally export oil and other raw materials.
It was the first assault operation of its kind carried out by UK forces. Marines, coordinated with special agents from the National Crime Agency and with support from the RAF (Royal Air Force), assaulted the oil tanker through a deployment and seizure of the ship that lasted six hours.
After this Tuesday’s incident, a boat from the British Royal Navy ship approached the yacht to gather information about what happened and ensure that the crew was safe. There have been no injuries or deaths, and the pleasure craft has continued on its course.
Admiral Grigorovich has been deployed near British territorial waters for almost a year, and during this time he has focused on escorting the vessels that are part of the ‘ghost fleet’ on their journey.
In a game of cat and mouse that was definitively broken on Sunday with the assault of the Smyrtios, in the last year the British ships have in turn monitored the Russian frigate, every time it approached the limit of territorial waters.
The ‘shadow fleet’ is responsible for transporting up to 75% of the Russian oil that, in theory, is embargoed under sanctions. There are nearly 700 vessels that keep alive the line of financing that Putin needs to maintain his offensive in Ukraine.
