The Ministry of Defence is investigating reports that a Russian warship fired warning shots close to a UK-registered yacht in the English Channel on Tuesday morning, a spokesman confirmed.

The reports indicate the Russian Navy frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired shots at a UK-registered yacht at around 1140 BST (1040 GMT) on the morning of Tuesday 16 June 2026, located some 20 miles south of the Isle of Wight.

There were no injuries or damage to the yacht, a Bavaria 39 called called Bright Future, owned by Jane and Alan Kelvey and based at Port Solent marina in Portsmouth, Hampshire. AIS is currently showing Bright Future moored in Cherbourg, France, following a passage across the English Channel from Lymington at the western end of the Solent.

JY8055 Bavaria 39 class yacht GBR3010L Bright Future under spinnaker during the 2017 Round the Island Race

‘We are investigating reports of an incident in the Channel,’ an MOD spokesman told Yachting Monthly.

The UK-registered yacht was reportedly drifting close to the Russian Navy vessel which shouted a verbal warning, and attempted to make contact via VHF radio, before firing warning shots from around 500 yards (457 meters) away. It is common practice for warships to operate an exclusion zone, and it is not known why this yacht infringed on that zone.

Jane Kelvey told BBC Newsnight on Tuesday evening: ‘We were sailing from Lymington to Cherbourg, left at about 0400 this morning, and as we were coming about half way across the Channel, we saw in the distance a vessel. It wasn’t showing on our AIS so we couldn’t identify it. As we got closer to them we saw that it was a warship, and as we got closer still we saw that it had Cyrillic lettering along the side. We were about 4-500 meters off, it was on our starboard side. It was motionless, it was not adrift and it was holding station. We were sailing at about 1100 British time. As we approached they gave out five blasts on its horn, which means “Have you seen us?” We immediately turned two degrees to port, so that they could see we had made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them. Then a minute or so later they gave another five blasts on their horn, immediately followed by four to five [rounds of] small arms fire that wasn’t aimed at us; it was a warning fire that went up in the air, we believe.’

Jane and Alan Kelvey at the helm of Bavaria 39 ‘Bright Future’ during a Round the Island race. Photo: Bright Future Sailing

Marinetraffic.com shows his course from Lymington to Cherbourg, roughly 60 miles across the English Channel, and the route appears typical for a yacht making that passage. The curved track shows the yacht heading due south whilst being pushed first east for around six hours by the flood tide, and then pushed back to the west by the ebb tide, bringing the yacht to Cherbourg. The track does not show unaccounted diversions from this course, although the frequency of track points recorded may not be detailed enough to show smaller course deviations.

Marinetraffic.com shows the AIS track of the yacht Bright Future, showing a normal curve as the yacht is pushed east and then west by the tide on their roughly 60-mile crossing. Image: marinetraffic.com

The incident took place outside UK territorial waters. It is understood that there is no indication that the warship behaved improperly in any way.

HMS Mersey was monitoring the Russian vessel at the time in a routine operation after the Navy ship was spotted off the coast of Brest. A seaboat from HMS Tyne visited the yacht to gather details and check that the crew were safe.

The MOD declined to provide further comment while the investigation is ongoing.

The incident is not thought to be linked to the UK’s interception of Russian shadow fleet tanker Smyrtos in the English Channel on Sunday. In that operation, Royal Marines of 42 Commando boarded and seized the tanker in the first operation of its kind carried out by the British forces.

Russian warships regularly pass through the Channel and are routinely monitored by Royal Navy vessels.

The warship has allegedly been operating in the Channel for a while, patrolling and escorting some of the Russian shadow fleet that pass through the shipping lane.

The Smyrtos military operation on Sunday lasted six hours and was carried out with support from aircraft from the Maritime Air Group (Chinooks, Merlin Mk4 and Wildcat), an RAF P-8 aircraft, as well as HMS Sutherland and HMS Ledbury, the MOD said.

PORTLAND, ENGLAND – JUNE 14: Military helicopters are seen at the Smyrtos vessel outside the harbour, on June 14, 2026 in Portland, England. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)

The Prime Minister agreed in March that British Armed Forces and law enforcement officers could board shadow fleet vessels, in accordance with international law.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Sunday: ‘This operation delivers yet another blow to Russia and reminds those fuelling Putin’s war in Ukraine that they cannot hide.’

Defence Secretary Dan Jarvis said: ‘Russia relies on its shadow fleet to fund their conflict in Ukraine and our interdiction delivers a blow to Putin’s illegal war.’

‘By disrupting the shadow fleet, we and our international partners are directly bearing down on the resources sustaining Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and reducing its capacity to threaten security across Europe and beyond.’

The Russian shadow fleet of over 700 vessels is responsible for carrying 75% of Russia’s sanctioned oil, the government said, and provides a critical lifeline for the Kremlin generating a war fund that supplies missiles and drones to target Ukraine.

PORTLAND, ENGLAND – JUNE 15: A border security vessel patrols the detained Smyrtos vessel outside the harbour, on June 15, 2026 in Portland, England. An oil tanker operating as part of Russia’s shadow fleet has been intercepted by British Forces in the English Channel. In the early hours of Sunday morning Royal Marine Commandos and members of the National Crime Agency boarded the Smyrtos vessel, which is sailing under the flag of Cameroon. The operation is the first time the UK has intercepted a sanctioned Russian tanker, as part of efforts to disrupt Russia’s funding of its war in Ukraine. (Photo by Finnbarr Webster/Getty Images)