A retired British couple has opened up to the media about the “surreal” and terrifying experience they faced after a Russian warship fired warning shots near their yacht in the English Channel.
Jane and Alan Kelvey were sailing approximately 23 miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight when they encountered the Russian frigate, Admiral Grigorovich. The warship opened fire into the path of the UK-registered yacht, in what the UK Ministry of Defence has described as an “isolated incident.”
Conflicting Accounts: Who Was on the Wrong Course?
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that the yacht was making a “dangerous approach” toward the warship. However, the British couple strongly rejected these claims, stating they were “definitely not on a collision course.”
Recounting the incident to BBC Newsnight, Jane Kelvey explained how the situation unfolded second by second:
“The warship gave out five blasts on their horn, which in maritime terms means ‘have you seen us?’ We immediately turned two degrees to port so they could see we had made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them.”
According to her, the situation escalated without warning just moments later.
“Then a minute or so later they gave another five blasts on their horn, immediately followed by four to five small arms fire. That wasn’t aimed at us—it was warning fire that went up in the air, we believe.”
Official Responses from London and Moscow
According to Moscow, the crew of the Admiral Grigorovich fired rifles into the yacht’s path only after making several attempts to contact the vessel over the radio and launching warning flares. Russia insists its sailors acted in “strict accordance with international shipping regulations.”
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) also confirmed that the shots were not aimed directly at the vessel but were instead an attempt to prevent a potential collision after communication attempts.
However, the owners of the yacht, named “Bright Future”, strongly disagree with this narrative. Jane Kelvey called the gunfire “completely unnecessary” and noted that she has officially reported the incident as a hazard to navigation, following standard maritime procedures.
