Maritime History

2026 English Channel incident

On 16 June 2026, the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich sounded horn blasts and then fired flares and warning rifle shots as British yacht Bright Future, sailed by a retired couple, was approaching the warship in foggy conditions, in the English Channel between Normandy and the Isle of Wight. The incident occurred 20 nautical miles (37 km) south of the Isle of Wight. Warning rifle shots were fired from about 500 yards (457 m) away into the air, which BBC News described as a "relatively near distance by the standards of sea travel". No damage was reported to the yacht which was eventually assisted by a boat from HMS Tyne. The Admiral Grigorovich, whose mission was to escort Russian-flagged vessels through the English Channel, was being shadowed at the time by HMS Mersey.

Also on this shelf

See also

• ▸Hamilton Princess & Beach Club
• ▸Cryptandra
• ▸Boat building

Uncatalogued shelf

Text from Wikipedia; plate via Wikimedia Commons. Text CC BY-SA 4.0; plate freely licensed (see Commons). Source record. Images and catalogue data are reproduced from open-access collections.