Russian warship: Warning shots fired at yacht – sailors report incident, navy issues advice on how to behave

Following the warning shots fired by the Russian frigate “Admiral Grigorovich” at their Bavaria 39 south of the Isle of Wight, the yacht’s owners, Jane and Alan Kelvey, have spoken out in detail for the first time. They describe the firing as “completely unnecessary” and dispute the Russian account of a “dangerous approach”. The incident raises fundamental questions: Who was required to give way? Which rules apply? And how should sailors behave when encountering warships?

First the foghorn, then warning shots

Jane and Alan Kelvey were sailing about 23 miles off the coast of the Isle of Wight when, at around 11.40 am on Tuesday morning, they came into close contact with the Russian frigate “Admiral Grigorovich”. The two retired Britons have now given the BBC their account of the “surreal” incident – and contradict Moscow’s version of events.

The yacht in question is the "Bright Future", a Bavaria 39 based in Lymington, Hampshire. Jane Kelvey reported BBC Newsnight: “We saw a ship in the distance that wasn’t showing up on our AIS, so we couldn’t identify it. It was only when we got closer that we realised it was a warship.” At that point, they were about 400 to 500 metres away. “The warship sounded five blasts on its foghorn, which means ‘Have you seen us?’. We immediately turned two degrees to port so that they could see we had deliberately changed course. A minute later, they sounded five more blasts, immediately followed by four or five shots from handguns. These were not aimed at us – we believe they were warning shots fired into the air.”

According to Jane Kelvey’s account, her yacht was “definitely not on a collision course”; she described the shots as “completely unnecessary”. According to the BBC, the yacht was drifting towards the warship in foggy conditions after setting sail from the UK. The “Admiral Grigorovich” is said to have been adrift, not under power, in the sea area just outside British territorial waters, which significantly reduced its manoeuvrability.

​From a legal perspective, warning shots may well be justified, for example in self-defence or in the event of an imminent risk of collision following several unsuccessful attempts to issue a warning. They do not constitute a standard warning signal under the collision-avoidance rules.

Russia: “Dangerous escalation” – Starmer: “Reckless”

The Russian Ministry of Defence stated that the crew of the “Admiral Grigorovich” had fired small arms in the yacht’s path after several attempts to contact the yacht by radio had failed and flares had been set off. The yacht was said to have been on a “dangerous course” towards the warship. Moscow emphasised that the sailors had acted “in strict accordance with international maritime regulations”.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, however, described the firing of shots as “reckless” and told the BBC on Wednesday that the incident “should not have happened”. The Ministry of Defence clearly describes the incident as an “isolated incident”, i.e. a one-off.

The couple told the BBC that they weren’t afraid after the shots were fired. Jane Kelveys jokes that she simply ducked and pulled her tarpaulin over her head “to protect herself”, whilst her husband continued to steer. A boat from HMS Tyne, a British patrol vessel, was dispatched to the yacht to gather details and check on the crew’s safety. The “Bright Future” continued its journey to Cherbourg, where it arrived safely.

​The incident took place against a politically sensitive backdrop. Just two days earlier, on Sunday morning, Royal Marine Commandos and officers from the National Crime Agency had boarded the Cameroonian-flagged oil tanker ‘Smyrtos’ off the coast of the Isle of Wight from helicopters, supported by a Royal Navy frigate. It was the first time since the start of the war in Ukraine that British forces had led the seizure of a vessel subject to sanctions. However, the British Ministry of Defence states that the firing of shots was not connected to the seizure of the tanker.

The “Admiral Grigorovich” has been operating regularly near British waters for months. According to BBC Verify, it is said to be escorting Shadow Fleet vessels through the Channel. It has repeatedly been resupplied by a repair vessel so that it can remain near the British coast. In April, it escorted six shadow fleet vessels through the waterway.

Is there an ‘exclusion zone’ around warships?

The British trade journal “Yachting Monthly” describes an “Exclusion Zone”, that is, a kind of exclusion zone around warships as “standard practice”, and adds: “it is not known why the sailing yacht entered this zone”.

However, in this specific case, international maritime law does not provide for such an “exclusion zone”. Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), no state may assert sovereignty over any part of the high seas in international waters. Military “exclusion zones” are legally recognised in only two circumstances: in the event of war, such as the Total Exclusion Zone around the Falkland Islands in 1982, or during pre-announced exercises, which are publicised internationally via NAVAREA warnings. In the current case, there was no announced exclusion zone. There was no NAVAREA warning, nor was there a designated exercise area.

Furthermore, the incident took place outside a traffic separation scheme. According to the Collision Prevention Regulations (Rule 18), the motorised vessel – in this case, the frigate – is generally obliged to give way to a sailing vessel. A warship does not, by its very nature, have any special rights. If the “Admiral Grigorovich” had been adrift with its engines off, as British sources suggest, it would have been regarded as a vessel unable to manoeuvre – in which case it would have been required to display the appropriate signals. A further complicating factor is that military vessels do not usually transmit an AIS signal and, in conditions of reduced visibility, cannot be immediately distinguished from civilian vessels by visual means.

​On the subject of:

• Safety: This is how recreational boaters should behave when encountering naval vessels

​Increased naval presence: Not just in the English Channel

The naval presence is also increasing significantly in German waters. For example, In December 2025, the Russian destroyer "Severomorsk" was transferred from the Northern Fleet to the Baltic Sea and sailed through the Fehmarn Belt – alongside four tankers from the so-called ‘shadow fleet’. In May, the 7,000-tonne vessel took up position in international waters off Fehmarn.

At the same time, the Bundeswehr and NATO are also stepping up their activities. Training takes place all year round in the firing ranges in the Baltic Sea. Following on from Warnemünde last year, the starting point for the international naval exercise “Baltops 2026” currently underway is Gdynia in the Bay of Gdańsk, Poland, with 15 participating countries including Germany, Poland, Denmark, Estonia, Finland and France. Civilian vessels not taking part in the exercise were asked in advance to maintain a safety distance of 1,000 metres from the warships. Back in August 2025, the international exercise “Northern Coast” took place, involving more than 2,000 soldiers and 40 ships from 14 nations. There, too, the rule applied that a safety distance of at least 1,000 metres from naval vessels must be maintained.

What sailors need to know right now

The increasing naval presence also has implications for recreational boaters. Last summer, for instance, Commander Martin Schwarz of the German Navy strongly advised sailors in the Baltic Sea: “If you see warships, it is advisable to keep your distance. It might be tempting to sail past and have a look, but you can’t tell at all what they’re doing or whether an exercise is currently taking place.” This was against the backdrop of intensified training exercises by the German Navy in the Baltic Sea, particularly in Neustadt Bay, Lübeck Bay and Hohwacht Bay, where, in addition to combat exercises, mine-clearing drills and manoeuvres in fleet formations were also carried out.

A spokesperson for the German Navy has confirmed this and, in response to an enquiry today, provided further details: “From the Navy’s point of view, the recommendation is definitely to keep as much distance as possible. Sailors should also navigate with care and observe the flag signals in accordance with the International Code of Signals.” It is also important to ensure that you are always on standby on VHF channel 16 and to navigate in a clear and unambiguous manner. This is because problems often only arise when sailors enter the safety zone of a warship and “do not navigate along routes that can be explained quite clearly”, as the spokesperson describes.