Big increase of Russian ship monitoring in UK waters
Key Points
- Royal Navy warships and helicopters spent 21 days in July monitoring Russian activity in UK waters and the North Atlantic.
- Monitoring operations are up 25% across the first seven months of 2026 compared with 2025.
- HMS Somerset, HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey and HMS Severn took part, alongside Wildcat and Merlin helicopters.
- HMS Tyne closed to five nautical miles as Russian frigate RFN Neustrashimy conducted gunnery firings on 20 July.
- The UK has sanctioned more than 500 shadow fleet vessels and interdicted the tanker Smyrtos in the Channel in June.
Royal Navy warships and helicopters spent 21 days in July tracking Russian activity in UK waters and the North Atlantic, part of a 25% rise in monitoring operations across the first seven months of 2026 compared with the same period last year.
The Ministry of Defence dispatched four warships for the July tasking – HMS Somerset, HMS Tyne, HMS Mersey and HMS Severn – alongside Wildcat helicopters from 815 Naval Air Squadron and Merlin submarine-hunting aircraft.
The ships and aircraft reported on the movements of Russian warships and submarines through the month.
Russian frigate RFN Neustrashimy repeatedly transited the UK’s area of responsibility over that period, escorting shadow fleet tankers through recognised traffic lanes and tying up Royal Navy capacity to guard the cargo.
The activity follows the UK’s interdiction of the sanctioned shadow fleet oil tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel in June. The UK has sanctioned more than 500 vessels linked to the fleet, which Russia uses to move oil outside Western price caps, and Russian oil and gas revenues fell 24% year-on-year in 2025.
Gunnery firings outside territorial waters
Portsmouth-based HMS Tyne was on duty on 20 July when Neustrashimy carried out gunnery firings outside UK and French territorial waters.
Tyne closed to five nautical miles as the Russian warship fired, gathering intelligence and observing the fall of shot, which included around 20 rounds from the frigate’s main 100mm armament and its 30mm battery.
“Through sustained presence and close cooperation with allies, HMS Tyne was ideally suited to this task, providing reassurance and monitoring while enabling other Fleet units to continue their operational commitments,” said Lieutenant Commander Sam Fields, Commanding Officer of HMS Tyne.
The Royal Navy activated HMS Severn twice in July. The patrol ship first shadowed frigate RFN Admiral Grigorovich as it sailed eastwards from the island of Ushant, off the French coast, to Dover. Severn then took on a three-day mission from 23 to 26 July to intercept and shadow Neustrashimy, taking over monitoring duties in the North Sea from HMS Mersey.
Severn kept watch as Neustrashimy escorted shadow fleet tanker MV Vulkan from the Baltic, through the Dover Strait and towards Ushant, before the two River-class offshore patrol vessels handed over again once the escort finished.
“This shows the versatility of my crew and the other OPVs to deliver a range of tasks demonstrating our continued relevance and operational value,” said Lieutenant Commander Dom Jacobs, Executive Officer in Temporary Command of HMS Severn.
