A Russian warship in the English Channel fired warning shots at a UK-flagged yacht that appeared to be on a collision course with it, according to Russia’s defense ministry.

The yacht, Bright Future, did not report any injuries or damage and is continuing its journey. The Russian frigate, Admiral Grigorovich, launched signal flares to get the vessel’s attention after several unanswered attempts to contact the yacht’s crew via radio.

Incident Details

The Russian ministry said the sailboat continued its “dangerous approach” and once it was close to 150 meters away, the Russian frigate commander “decided to open warning fire along the vessel’s course using the ship’s small arms.” The yacht then changed course away from the Russian ship.

A UK Defense Ministry spokesperson said the UK is investigating reports of the incident, which occurred about 20 miles south of the Isle of Wight, outside UK territorial waters. The Royal Navy patrol vessel HMS Mersey was also in the area and monitoring the Russian warship at the time.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.