The Isle of Wight’s MPs have spoken out following the firing of warning shots by a Russian frigate at a British-registered yacht off the Isle of Wight.
Isle of Wight West parliamentarian Richard Quigley (Labour) and Joe Robertson (Conservative), who represents Isle of Wight East, have issued statements after the encounter involving the Admiral Grigorovich and the Bright Future.
No one was injured and the yacht, which was about 20 nautical miles south of the Island and outside the UK’s territorial waters, was not damaged in the incident on Tuesday morning (June 16).
Mr Robertson said:
“The Russian warship appeared to fire shots in the exact location where Island fishermen operate. It was only by chance that the Ventnor boats were inshore today.
“It is another very stark reminder that the government must take the defence of our nation seriously, and that means funding it properly.”
Mr Quigley said:
“I thank the crew of HMS Tyne for monitoring the frigate and ensuring the safe passage of the yacht and its crew. It does highlight the very real danger of Russian action close to our shores.”
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The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said the shots were fired to ‘prevent a possible collision’ after the Admiral Grigorovich’s attempts to contact the 12-metre sailing vessel failed.
A spokesperson said:
“We assess that this is an isolated incident and not linked to the UK’s interception of the Smyrtos this weekend.”
In an operation on Sunday (14th June), Royal Marine commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) boarded the Russian ‘shadow fleet’ tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel, 25 miles south of the Isle of Wight.
A translation of a statement posted on the Telegram channel of the Russian defence ministry said the Bright Future had been on a ‘dangerous approach’ and the shots were fired after attempting to draw the attention of the yacht’s crew through signal flares and sound signals.
It said the Russian sailors had acted ‘in strict accordance’ with international shipping regulations.
Jane Kelvey, 68, and her husband Alan, 70, were on board the Bright Future at the time and later said they were not on a collision course. Mr Kelvey described the Russian statement as ‘just normal lies’.
Mrs Kelvey told BBC’s Newsnight:
“It’s just not true. They’re blaming us, and as far as we’re concerned, we were blameless.”
A non Story I’m not a Russia fan but I think any warship would do the same as some little yacht was closing on it in international waters