Royal Navy tracks Russian vessels in UK waters

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Photo credit: Royal Navy

 

  • HMS Mersey and a Wildcat helicopter monitored Russian vessels in the English Channel.

  • Advanced radars and sensors tracked the vessels as they separated, one heading to the Atlantic, the other returning east.

  • The operation underscores the Royal Navy’s readiness and commitment to protecting UK waters with NATO support.

A Royal Navy warship and helicopter have completed a focused 48-hour operation monitoring Russian activity in UK waters as part of coordinated NATO efforts.

Portsmouth-based HMS Mersey and a Wildcat helicopter from 815 Naval Air Squadron were dispatched to report on the movements of Russian Steregushchiy-class frigate RFN Soobrazitelny and sanctioned oil tanker MV Anatoly Kolodkin.

Patrol ship Mersey and the Yeovilton-based Wildcat kept close watch, utilising powerful radars and sensors to gather valuable intelligence, as the two Russian vessels sailed westward through the English Channel.

The two Russian ships separated at the western end of the Channel, with the Royal Navy tracking Soobrazitelny back eastwards through the Channel as the Anatoly Kolodkin continued to sail into the Atlantic.

Commanding Officer of HMS Mersey, Lieutenant Commander Dan Wardle, said: “This operation provides a clear example of Mersey’s readiness and operational capability in monitoring Russian vessel movements through our waters.

“Our coordination with allied forces further amplifies our situational awareness and response capacity, ensuring we are able to safeguard the integrity of our maritime environment.”

Fleet Commander Vice-Admiral Steve Moorhouse added: “In an increasingly contested and uncertain world, the work of HMS Mersey and 815 Naval Air Squadron is another example of the Royal Navy’s enduring commitment to protecting UK home waters.”

This latest operation comes two weeks after Royal Navy shadowed two sanctioned Russian cargo ships and their escorting warships in UK waters as part of a concentrated NATO effort from the Mediterranean to the North Sea.

Russian Navy Ropucha-class landing ship Aleksandr Otrakovsky and merchant vessel Sparta IV were tracked in the first operation, which began with HMS Cutlass of the Royal Navy’s Gibraltar Squadron intercepting the Russians in the Gibraltar Strait before HMS Tyne and a Wildcat helicopter tracked them in the Channel and North Sea.

Just 48 hours later, Tyne and a Wildcat were activated again to track another Russian Ropucha-class warship, Aleksandr Shabalin, and cargo vessel MV Sabetta as they sailed westward through the English Channel.