A second Russian naval ship to sail through UK waters in a week is suspected of escorting shadow fleet vessels past the UK, it can be revealed.
A Russian frigate armed with cruise and surface-to-air missiles, named the RFN Admiral Grigorovich, traversed the English Channel on Friday, according to photographs of the vessel taken by local fishermen and analysed by The i Paper.
The vessel, which had been tracked by Britain’s Royal Navy every day last month as it sailed from the Atlantic to the North Sea, passed through the English Channel unchallenged, along with seven sanctioned vessels suspected of fueling Russia’s war with Ukraine. This is despite the UK threatening to target ships within Russia’s so-called shadow fleet.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said the RFN Admiral Grigorovich had been previously tracked by three Royal Navy patrol ships, Tyne, Mersey and Severn, whilst RFA Tideforce and Wildcat helicopters from 815 Naval Air Squadron tracked the Russian frigate throughout April.
Vladimir Putin has long relied on an illicit network of tankers to trade and transport clandestine oil shipments around the world. As European nations have threatened to seize them, and allies across the Continent have conducted forced boardings, a trend of naval escorts of important shipments across European waters has increased.
“We see a trend of Russian Federation Navy ships escorting sanctioned vessels through these waterways,” a Nato official said. “These escorting activities take up valuable days at sea for the Russian navy, and it places a strain on their ability to generate naval forces for other missions.”
The RFN Admiral Grigorovich had previously passed through the Channel last month, carrying oil, supplies and spare parts for Putin’s armed forces, this paper revealed.
It had escorted a sanctioned tanker, the Universal, as it sailed past the English coast carrying “military relevant” cargo for the direct use of Russia’s army, a senior maritime security source told The i Paper.
Second vessel to move through the Channel in days
As the naval vessel sailed through the Channel on Friday, seven vessels sanctioned by the UK Foreign Office, including two overtly Russian-flagged tankers, traversed past the British coast.
It comes days after another Russian naval vessel, the Kremlin’s Amur-class repair ship PM-82 – a 122 metre floating workshop designed to maintain Moscow’s Baltic fleet of warships, loitered around the Galloper wind farm, 30 miles off the Suffolk coastline.
Seven tankers sanctioned by the Foreign Office passed through the English Channel on Friday (Photo: Starboard Maritime Intelligence)The repair ship’s presence was so close to critical UK infrastructure on Tuesday – the second month in a row that it has been observed at the same location – that it sparked a Nato monitoring operation involving a Dutch Royal Navy vessel, the DSS Galatea.
The increased presence shows Russia’s maritime threat to the UK and its European allies is growing as Putin steps up his “grey war” with the West, brazenly sailing sanctioned “shadow fleet” ships through UK waters, increasing fears they are interfering with vital undersea cables in the Baltic and Atlantic seas. The UK has some 45 undersea cables connecting Britain to other countries that carry essential power supplies and vast quantities of data, including financial information.
Armed Forces minister Al Carns said: “As Russian warships continue to operate near our shores, our Armed Forces are there every day: watching, tracking and ready.
“This round-the-clock operation sends a clear message: UK waters are protected, our sailors and aircrew are alert, and we will always defend our nation and its vital infrastructure.”
Putin steps up ‘grey war’
Last month, the head of the Royal Navy, First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, warned that Britain and its allies needed the “collective combat power necessary” to deter Moscow at sea or risk a direct military confrontation.
In January, the UK strengthened its legal position to detain sanctioned Russian ships near its waters and on 25 March, Starmer authorised military personnel to carry out forced boardings.
Keir Starmer said he was going after Putin’s shadow fleet “even harder”, and that Moscow “should be in no doubt” the UK will fight against Moscow’s illicit network of tankers.
Russian Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar (foreground), her accompanying tugboat Altay (centre), and Royal Navy Fast Fleet Tanker RFA Tidesurge (background) (Photo: Royal Navy)Since then, no ships have been seized, while hundreds of sanctioned tankers – an average of at least four a day – have sailed through the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone, according to data provided by Starboard Maritime Intelligence.
European allies are stepping up. Sweden seized a suspected shadow fleet tanker in the Baltic Sea on Sunday, the fifth such action this year.
The Syrian-flagged Jin Hui was boarded while it traversed Swedish territorial waters after an investigation into its lack of seaworthiness, the country’s coast guard said in a statement.
“The coast guard suspects that the ship is sailing under a false flag, given there are a number of irregularities concerning its flag status, and therefore does not meet demands for seaworthiness as set out in international regulations and agreements,” it said.
The MoD has repeatedly said: “The UK keeps maritime activity in the Channel under constant review. Any enforcement action is considered on a case-by-case basis, in accordance with international law and domestic legislation.
“We will not provide a running commentary or get into details of our decision-making process as this could compromise our ability to successfully take action against sanctioned ships, only benefitting our adversaries.”
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