Russian Warships Escort ‘Sanctioned’ Tanker through English Channel as Royal Navy Looks On

The U.K. Royal Navy claims it "intercepted" Russian warships escorting a sanctioned oil tanker but did not board the vessel as on earlier occasions.

The British navy said in a statement that the HMS Tyne and a AgustaWestland Wildcat from 815 Naval Air Squadron were deployed to monitor the Russian Navy’s Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovsky and the merchant vessel Sparta IV as they sailed through the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel and into the North Sea.

The patrol ship used onboard sensors and radar to track the movement of the vessels, while the Wildcat helicopter conducted an aerial sortie over the channel to provide additional surveillance, the service said.

The vessels had earlier been tracked in the Strait of Gibraltar by HMS Cutlass of the Royal Navy Gibraltar Squadron as they passed through the strait’s traffic separation scheme. An allied warship then continued monitoring the transit northward before HMS Tyne took over tracking duties in the Atlantic approaches to the English Channel.

About 48 hours later, HMS Tyne and a Wildcat helicopter were again tasked with monitoring another Russian naval vessel, the Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Shabalin, and the cargo vessel MV Sabetta as they sailed westward through the English Channel.

“This operation sends a warning to Putin: we are watching you. Iran’s dangerous indiscriminate attacks will not distract us from deterring Russia and supporting Ukraine. We are ready to track, deter and defend our nation,” U.K. Defence Secretary John Healey said.