The British Royal Navy tracked a Russian warship escorting a cargo vessel through the English Channel and the North Sea during a three-day operation, according to the navy’s press release.
Newsweek’s map below illustrates the cargo ship’s route from the Syrian port Tartus to the North Sea.
Newsweek reached out to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for comment via email outside of business hours.
The Russian cargo ship the Baltic Leader moored in the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, France on February 27, 2022.
The Russian cargo ship the Baltic Leader moored in the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, France on February 27, 2022.
Dominique Boutin/Associated Press
Why It Matters
NATO members have had to monitor Russian sea activity, primarily the Baltic Sea, due to increased activity as the war with Ukraine has escalated.
There are also growing tensions between the U.K. and Russia, as London has been one of Kyiv’s strongest supporters in the war with Moscow, and has begun to work with France on a peace plan to present to the U.S.
What To Know
The British Royal Navy said that utilizing its HMS Somerset, a British Type 23 frigate, it completed a three-day operation monitoring a Russian warship escorting a cargo vessel.
The Russian ship under British surveillance, known as the corvette Boikiy, was escorting the merchant vessel the Baltic Leader on its voyage from Syria through the English Channel and North Sea.
The crew on the warship escorting the cargo vessel was armed with machine guns, according to the British newspaper The Times. The cargo ship was reportedly transporting a shipment of military equipment from the Russian naval base in Tartus, which is being evacuated after Moscow’s contract with Damascus was terminated.
The HMS Somerset worked in conjunction with UK patrol aircraft and allied NATO forces during the operation, and the ship used its sensors and radars to report on Russian movements.
The British Royal Navy’s frigate also launched a Merlin helicopter from 814 Naval Air Squadron to ascertain valuable information aerially.
The HMS Somerset began monitoring the corvette Boikiy on March 1, as the ship headed south to meet the Baltic Leader, to then escort the cargo ship back to Russia.
The Baltic Leader is a roll-on roll-off cargo ship owned by the Russian shipping company MG-Flot LLC (formerly Transmorflot LLC), according to Ukraine’s War Sanctions website.
The cargo vessel was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2022 for transporting weapons for the Russian military, according to Reuters.
Built in 2000, the Baltic Leader is 126.86 meters (416 feet long) and 20 meters (65 feet) wide, according to MarineTraffic.com.
The British Royal Navy reportedly routinely monitors any potential threats to national security through shadowing missions, sometimes surveying undersea cables or pipelines.
This instance comes two weeks after the British Royal Navy utilized three ships to conduct a shadowing mission monitoring five Russian vessels as they sailed from Moscow’s Baltic port in Syria.
There have also been numerous other instances in which the British Royal Navy has monitored Russian ships previously, including the HMS Somerset’s tracking of the suspected Russian spy ship Yantar in January, and the navy’s monitoring of six Russian ships transporting ammunition from Syria in February.
What People Are Saying
In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, the British Royal Navy wrote: “Another month, another Russian task group kept under constant Royal Navy surveillance passing the UK. @HMSSomerset and 814 NAS from @RNASCuldrose watched corvette Boikiy and cargo ship Baltic Leader through the Channel.”
In the British Royal Navy’s press release, Commander Joel Roberts, Commanding Officer of HMS Somerset said: “Somerset is well versed in the escort of Russian ships, having conducted these operations on a number of occasions. Great professionalism has been shown by the ship’s company to remain vigilant whilst operating in UK waters and integrating with our NATO Allies to monitor Russian activity around Europe.”
What Happens Next
It is unknown at this time if the British Royal Navy will expand its protection measures to continue monitoring Russian activity in the English Channel and the North Sea.