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André Rhoden-Paul
The Royal Navy says it has tracked a Russian submarine through the English Channel to “safeguard” UK waters.
A tanker shadowed the Russian Kilo-class submarine Krasnodar as it sailed on the surface from the North Sea, through the Strait of Dover and into the English Channel, it said.
The Royal Navy added that it had been prepared to “pivot to anti-submarine operations” if Krasnodar had dived below the surface.
The incident is the latest in a series of instances of Russian naval activity in UK waters. The government says there has been a 30% increase in Russian vessels threatening UK waters in the past two years – though Russia says the UK is the one being provocative.
The Russian submarine and its tugboat Altay were tracked by Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) tanker Tidesurge carrying a specialist Merlin helicopter aboard, as part of a three-day operation.
It said this was part of the government’s commitment to “safeguard the integrity of UK waters and protect national security”, the Royal Navy said.
Capt James Allen, commanding officer of RFA Tidesurge, said the vessel had provided “a show of presence and deterrence as we transited from the North Sea to the English Channel”.
The navy continued to shadow the Russian submarine and its tugboat until it approached the north-west of France, at which point tracking of it was handed over to a Nato ally.
This week, Defence Secretary John Healey announced the government’s Atlantic Bastion programme, which aims to secure the UK’s undersea cables and pipelines from Russian threats – though critics say the navy lacks sufficient resources to do the job properly.
It was revealed a month after Healey said a Russian spy ship had pointed lasers at RAF pilots tracking its activity near UK waters.
The UK said the ship was being used for gathering intelligence and mapping undersea cables.
“We see you. We know what you are doing. And we are ready,” Healey said in a message to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian embassy has previously said it was “not interested in British underwater communications” and urged the UK to “hold off taking any destructive steps which might aggravate the crisis situation on the European continent”.
