British couple describe warning shots fired near yacht by Russian warship

A British couple sailing a yacht in the English Channel described the moment a Russian warship fired warning shots near them as surreal.

Jane and Alan Kelvey were about 23 miles off the Isle of Wight on Tuesday morning when the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired into their path. The couple said the shots came after the warship sounded its horn several times.

Jane Kelvey told BBC Newsnight the frigate gave five blasts on its horn, which she understood as a signal asking if they had seen the ship. She said they turned two degrees to port to show they had seen it. Minutes later, she said, the warship sounded its horn again and then fired four or five rounds of small-arms fire into the air.

The Russian Defence Ministry said the yacht had made a dangerous approach and that its crew had followed international rules by attempting radio contact, firing warning flares and then shooting into the yacht's path. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said the shots were not aimed at the vessel and were meant to prevent a possible collision.

Jane Kelvey said the yacht Bright Future was not on a collision course. She called the gunfire completely unnecessary and reported the incident as a hazard to navigation. The yacht had drifted toward the frigate in fog after leaving the UK without engine power.

British officials said the shots were fired from about 500 yards away. A boat from HMS Tyne later reached the yacht to check on the crew. The couple said they were not afraid. Jane Kelvey joked that she crouched and pulled her hood over her head while her husband kept steering.

The incident occurred outside UK territorial waters and was described by the Ministry of Defence as isolated. It was not linked to the interception of a Russian tanker by Royal Marines earlier in the week. The Admiral Grigorovich had been under routine Royal Navy monitoring for several days.