British Yacht 'Bright Future' Sailed from UK to France, Prompting Warning Shots from Russian Frigate
Auf einen Blick
- A British-flagged yacht, 'Bright Future', sailing from Lymington Bay, UK, to Cherbourg, France, prompted warning shots from the Russian frigate 'Admiral Grigorovich' in the English Channel.
- The yacht changed course after the warning shots.
KI-generierte Zusammenfassung
Warum es wichtig ist
A Russian frigate fired warning shots at a British-flagged yacht in the English Channel after it allegedly approached dangerously. The yacht was en route from the UK to France.
The yacht "Bright Future", flying the British flag, whose dangerous course prompted the crew of the frigate "Admiral Grigorovich" to fire warning shots in the English Channel, was sailing from Great Britain to France.
According to open data reviewed by TASS, the yacht departed at 5:15 a.m. local time [4:15 a.m. GMT] from Lymington Bay in Hampshire County in southwest England. At the time of its approach to the Russian frigate around 11:40 a.m. [10:40 a.m. GMT], it was moving at a speed of about 6 knots per hour. After that, it continued to move at the same speed for another quarter of an hour, then changed course and accelerated to 7.3 knots per hour. Around 5:53 p.m. [4:53 p.m. GMT], it arrived at the port of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in northwestern France in the Normandy region, where it remains to this day.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry stated that the crew of Russia’s "Admiral Grigorovich" frigate spotted the British-flagged "Bright Future" yacht that was approaching it dangerously in the English Channel and opened preemptive fire to prevent collision. To alert the yacht’s crew, signal flares were launched and audible signals were sounded. Despite these measures, the vessel continued its dangerous approach. "When the distance reduced to 150 meters, the frigate’s commander decided to fire a warning shot along the vessel’s course using small arms. After that, the British-flagged yacht immediately changed its course and continued moving away from the Russian warship," the ministry added.
According to the BBC, the incident allegedly occurred on June 16 about 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of the Isle of Wight, outside the territorial waters of the United Kingdom. It’s reported that shots were fired about 500 yards (460 meters) from a yacht registered in the UK. Its name was not given, but it is specified that the vessel is not damaged and no one was injured.
It is also reported that at the time of the incident, the Russian frigate was escorted by British Navy patrol ship HMS Mersey.
The British military has made no link between this event and the incident with the operation to seize the Smyrtos tanker in the English Channel, allegedly belonging to the so-called Russian shadow fleet.
Offene Fragen
- Why did the yacht approach the frigate so closely?
- What was the exact nature of the 'dangerous approach'?
