British navy tracks Russian warships in English Channel for two days
HMS Daring (D32) frigate, Royal Navy (illustrative photo: wikimedia.org)
The UK Royal Navy tracked Russian vessels transiting the English Channel during a two-day operation coordinated with NATO allies, Reuters reports.
The UK Royal Navy deployed two patrol vessels and a Wildcat helicopter for the mission. They intercepted the Russian warship Boykiy and the Baltic Fleet auxiliary vessel, the oil tanker General Skobelev.
The Russian group was heading north. The UK tracked the Russian vessels for two days before handing over monitoring to another NATO ally. The operation became known just a day after London supported a French military boarding of a Russian shadow fleet tanker.
The Russian tanker was tracked for some time before the French Navy seized the sanctioned vessel as it passed through the Strait of Gibraltar. The operation was carried out as part of efforts to curb the activities of vessels belonging to Russia's shadow fleet.
It is recalled that as a result of a special operation by the French Navy on January 22, a Russian tanker sailing from Russia was detained. The tanker was part of the so-called shadow fleet and was under sanctions.
Russia's shadow fleet is estimated to include at least 900 vessels. This fleet consists of aging tankers sailing under false flags, with dubious ownership and unclear registration. The tankers transport sanctioned Russian oil, mainly to China and India.
The United States is actively detaining Russian shadow fleet tankers. In particular, on January 22, US armed forces detained the oil tanker Sagitta in the Caribbean Sea, which is under sanctions and part of Russia's shadow fleet. In total, at least seven such detentions are known.
Ukraine is attacking shadow fleet tankers with drones. Since December, at least six (and possibly eight) such vessels have sustained critical damage in the Black and Mediterranean Seas.
