Skip to content
Recruiting now.Explore navy careers

HMS Sutherland escorts two Russian warships past UK coastline

HMS Sutherland escorts two Russian warships through the English Channel
15 April 2017
Royal Navy frigate HMS Sutherland is today escorting two Russian warships which are expected to sail through the English Channel overnight tonight.

The Type 23 frigate located the two Russian ships in the early hours of Friday morning [14 Apr 17] as they sailed through the North Sea towards the Dover Straits.
 
The Steregushchiy-class corvettes, Soobrazitelny and Boiky, were joined later in the afternoon by a Russian support tanker and an ocean-going tug. 
 
HMS Sutherland will continue to monitor the movements of the ships as they pass close to UK territorial waters today. 

HMS Sutherland is carefully marking these Russian ships as they pass close to UK waters. The Royal Navy maintains a vigilant watch and is always ready to keep Britain safe.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon

Royal Navy sailors on the Plymouth-based frigate keep watch on every movement of the ships, using state-of-the-art radars to track the course and speed of the ships as they pass close to the UK.
 
Commander Andrew Canale, the Commanding Officer of HMS Sutherland, said:
 
"As one of the Royal Navy's high readiness units, HMS Sutherland is required to escort warships that approach the UK and this task is considered routine business for us.
 
"It is vitally important the Royal Navy demonstrates its presence and commitment to the integrity of UK territorial waters as we work around the clock to secure the seas of our island nation."
 
As a high-readiness unit, HMS Sutherland may be called upon at any time to help prevent arms trafficking, people smuggling, conduct counter-terrorism operations, maritime search and rescue, or escort duties like those it is undertaking today.

Related articles

Navy News

Direct from the front-line, the official newspaper of the Royal Navy, Navy News, brings you the latest news, features and award winning photos every month.