Russian Navy Ship Accused of Firing Warning Shots at U.K. Yacht

A Russian Navy vessel traveling through the English Channel reportedly fired warning shots Tuesday at a yacht registered in the United Kingdom, causing no damage but raising tensions between Britain and Russia over marine transit in the region, according to British military officials.

The yacht reported that the Russian ship was about 500 yards away when the warning shots were fired on Tuesday. Both ships were about 20 nautical miles south of the Isle of Wight but outside of British territorial waters, officials said.

No damage or injuries were reported by the people on the yacht, which continued on its path after reporting the incident, officials said.

Defense officials did not identify the Russian vessel, but the British Navy said over the weekend that the HMS Mersey and HMS Tyne, British patrol vessels, had been carrying out a routine operation to shadow the Admiral Grigorovich, a Russian naval frigate, that was operating in the Channel.

On Tuesday, British officials said the Mersey was monitoring the Russian ship at the time of the episode with the yacht. They added that a boat from the Tyne had visited the yacht to make sure its passengers were safe.

A statement from the British Ministry of Defense said Tuesday’s episode was under investigation.

It comes two days after the British military intercepted and seized control of the Smyrtos, a Russian shadow fleet oil tanker sailing in the English Channel. The British Defense Ministry said over the weekend that boarding the Smyrtos was an effort to disrupt Russia’s shadow fleet, ships that covertly move fuel around the globe on Russia’s behalf, enabling it to sidestep international sanctions that were imposed after its invasion of Ukraine.

The statement on Tuesday from Britain’s Defense Ministry said that officials were treating Tuesday’s action by the Russian naval vessel and the British yacht as an “isolated incident” unrelated to the Smyrtos interception.