Navy sees off suspected Russian spy vessel

A ROYAL NAVY warship was yesterday scrambled to intercept a suspected Russian spy vessel in the English Channel.

HMS Diamond – joined by a Wildcat helicopter, from RNAS Yeovilton in Somerset – was dispatched from Portsmouth to “greet” Yantar, which is believed to be an intelligence-collecting ship, as it approached UK waters.

The Type 45 destroyer took over the monitoring of the boat from a French naval ship, which had been following it through the Bay of Biscay. Yantar, a 354ft-long and 5,736-ton vessel, is officially an oceanographic research boat, but is understood to carry surveillance equipment. It carries two unmanned submersible vehicles, which can descend to the sea bed and send back images as well as collect items from the ocean floor.

It escorted the Russian vessel through the Channel and will continue to guide it north, ensuring it leaves UK waters.