Royal Navy tracks Admiral Grigorovich for one month off UK coast — Shadow Fleet
Britain’s Royal Navy tracked the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich every day for one month as it moved from the Atlantic to the North Sea, while the ship escorted Russia-linked vessels tied to the shadow fleet. Four UK ships and helicopters watched the frigate continuously during April.
The monitoring came as at least three sanctioned vessels passed east through the Dover strait, and the frigate took on supplies near Galloper windfarm off the Suffolk coast to keep its presence near Britain. Naval spotters believe Admiral Grigorovich is still in the North Sea.
John Healey and 25 March
John Healey, the defence secretary, said a month ago that the British navy had followed three Russian submarines on a month-long mission near UK waters. Keir Starmer said on 25 March that the military was able to seize ships subject to existing economic sanctions that were transiting through UK waters, and he said the UK would be going after Vladimir Putin’s shadow fleet even harder.
Since that statement, the UK has not led the seizure of any shadow fleet tankers. Sweden has detained five tankers this year, and France has seized two Russia-linked tankers with UK assistance, releasing each after the owners paid a fine.
Admiral Kasatonov in the Channel
A second Russian frigate, Admiral Kasatonov, passed through the Channel towards the end of April while escorting two merchant ships believed to be heading towards Tartus in Syria. One of those merchant ships, the Sparta, is associated with the transport of arms, and the convoy was monitored by the British auxiliary ship RFA Tideforce.
Elisabeth Braw, a security expert with the Atlantic Council thinktank, said Russia’s use of escorts changes the risk calculation for any coastal state weighing action against sanctioned shipping. “This is completely disproportionate; navies normally only escort vessels when there is a clear military threat, such as from the Houthis in the Red Sea.”
North Sea escort pattern
Braw said, “Russia has decided that this is an indispensable source of income that could be disrupted. Clearly, if the Russians thought these vessels were not going to encounter problems, they would not allocate a frigate.” She also said, “The Russian government has shown it is willing to use its naval power to protect vessels that break maritime rules.”
The April patrol showed six Russia-linked vessels moving under escort, with at least three sanctioned vessels passing through the Dover strait while four UK ships and helicopters kept watch. Britain’s challenge now is not the presence of a single frigate but the escort pattern around it: Braw said, “It makes it much more difficult for coastal states to intervene.”
For coastal states, the practical issue is whether they are willing to challenge an escorted ship in their own waters. Braw put it bluntly: “You have to be willing to risk a confrontation with the escort.”
