Royal Navy tracks Russian corvette Boikiy through the English Channel

With Russian naval activity increasing in waters off Western Europe, Royal Navy patrol vessels intercepted and tracked the Russian corvette Boikiy as it transited the English Channel, one of Europe’s busiest and most strategically sensitive sea lanes. The mission formed part of routine measures to control and follow foreign warships operating in international waters near the United Kingdom.

Royal Navy monitoring of the Russian corvette Boikiy

The Royal Navy stated that HMS Mersey and HMS Severn, supported by a Wildcat helicopter from 815 Naval Air Squadron, were tasked with observing the Russian corvette during its Channel passage and confirming that it navigated in accordance with international maritime law. The tanker MT General Skobelev was also present. The British assets maintained uninterrupted watch over the Russian vessel’s activity for the duration of its transit.

Boikiy is a Steregushchiy-class corvette of the Russian Navy and belongs to the surface combatant fleet Moscow routinely deploys to the Atlantic and other strategically important regions. Vessels of this class have capabilities suited to escort duties, patrol work and naval-presence operations in distant waters.

Extended European monitoring

The English Channel passage appears not to have been the only phase observed by European forces. Recent reports indicate that, after departing the area, the Russian corvette was tracked in the North Sea by a Royal Netherlands Navy patrol vessel, underlining the coordination among European naval forces monitoring such ships.

The operation also followed an incident two weeks earlier, when HMS Mersey and a Wildcat helicopter from 815 NAS intercepted the Russian Udaloy-class destroyer Severomorsk and the merchant vessels Sparta IV and MYS Zhelaniya in the North Sea.

Russian naval activity in the Atlantic and Mediterranean

A recurring pattern in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean

The English Channel incident is part of a wider series of recent surveillance operations. A few days previously, Spanish and British vessels had escorted the same corvette, Boikiy, as it crossed the Strait of Gibraltar, another vital maritime chokepoint between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. These movements add to the impression that the Russian vessel is undertaking an extended deployment through several strategic locations around Europe.

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