Overview

• From 20 to 23 September, HMS Iron Duke and an 815 Naval Air Squadron Wildcat monitored RFN Neustrashimy, MV Sparta IV and MV Angi through the North Sea and English Channel with support from four NATO nations.
• A NATO ally assumed tracking of Sparta IV near Ushant as it continued toward the Mediterranean, while Neustrashimy reversed course and returned toward the Baltic.
• Officials said the tasking formed part of the government’s Plan for Change, with ministers highlighting protection of UK waters, undersea cables and critical national infrastructure.
• The Royal Navy reported this was Iron Duke’s 18th such activation in the past 12 months, during which the frigate has monitored 25 Russian vessels.
• Reporting noted Sparta IV’s regular carriage of Russian military cargoes and a departure from Baltiysk bound for Port Said, while tanker Angi was described as carrying sanctioned Russian oil from Primorsk to Libya.