The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
Navy shadows Russian destroyer out of firth
Defence: Security alert after war ship detected off Moray coast
A Russian naval destroyer was escorted out of UK waters by the Royal Navy after it was detected in the Moray Firth.
HMS Somerset was called to monitor the warship Vice Admiral Kulakov and a supporting tanker after being spotted off Scotland’s north-east coast.
The Plymouth-based Type 23 frigate had been trialling cutting-edge sonar equipment when it was called to locate and shadow the Russian units.
Having arrived in the Moray Firth on Saturday, the vessel escorted the ships through UK waters and north along the coast of Norway.
Commander Timothy Berry, HMS Somerset’s commanding officer, said: “As with all Royal Navy ships operating in UK waters, HMS Somerset was at a high state of alert to deal with any maritime security task such as this.
“Monitoring transits of non-Nato warships through UK territorial waters is part of what the Royal Navy does all year round to keep Britain safe.
“We now continue with our original tasking, having seen the Russian ships safe-
“High stateo f alert to deal with any maritime security task”
ly through the UK’s area of interest.”
The Vice Admiral Kulakov is a Russian Udaloyclass destroyer and it is believed to have been returning from a deploy- ment in the Mediterranean. The warship was accompanied by a tanker, which is standard procedure for Russian ships when they are on such assignments.
It was not the Kulakov’s first visit to UK waters, as the destroyer was also shadowed by HMS Somerset from the same position in the Moray Firth in March last year.
And last October, a flotilla of Royal Navy destroyers were deployed to shadow a fleet of Russian warships off the coast of Shetland.
Led by the 1,000ft-long Admiral Kusnetsov, the fleet of eight ships was on its way towards the English Channel as it prepared to join Bashar al Assad’s bombing campaign in Syria.
HMS Duncan, the world’s most advanced air- defence destroyer, joined frigate HMS Richmond which intercepted the fleet.
Russian warships of the northern and Baltic fleets routinely pass through UK territorial waters, en route to or from deployments in the Mediterranean and the Gulf regions.