Tri-Service
Royal Navy Escorts Russian Warships Through Channel
Royal Navy patrol ship HMS Tyne has reportedly escorted a Russian warship through the Channel for the second time in a month.
Ropucha-class landing ship Tank Minsk was spotted by Portsmouth-based HMS Tyne, which tracked it through the Channel and into the Strait of Dover and then the North Sea, according to the Sun.
It comes after fellow Ropucha-class vessel, the Alexander Shabalin, was similarly shadowed for over 500 miles as it passed the British Isles.
HMS Tyne on exercise
The ships are used by Russia to move military equipment from its northern ports to bases in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Minsk was on her way back to northern European waters, while Tyne was on a North Sea fishery protection patrol before being alerted to the Russian vessel approaching UK waters.
She then used her sophisticated navigation software and radars to locate the Minsk before following her progress through one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and back into the North Sea.
Cover photo shows Ropucha-class landing ship Azov (top) and with doors open (bottom), in Sevastopol Bay in the Black Sea.
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