On today’s date, open-source information revealed that ships of the British Royal Navy and the Spanish Navy carried out surveillance and escort tasks over a Russian Navy vessel during its transit through the Strait of Gibraltar, one of the most strategic maritime passages in the world.
According to the limited information available so far, the British patrol vessel HMS Dagger (P296) and the Spanish Maritime Action Ship ESPS Furor (P-46) accompanied the Russian warship RFS Boikiy (532), along with the merchant tanker General Skobelev, as both carried out their crossing through the strait toward the Atlantic Ocean. The transit took place under a close-monitoring scheme, in line with the usual procedures applied by navies in the presence of foreign units in key maritime corridors.
Although no official statements were released by the United Kingdom or Spain, observers note that the MHS Dagger would also have had the mission of supervising the actions of the Spanish vessel during the operation, within the framework of allied coordination and maritime security protocols in force in the area.
As is well known, the Strait of Gibraltar constitutes a pivotal point for the transit of military and commercial vessels between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic, which is why the navigation of Russian units is usually closely followed by NATO forces. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, these surveillance activities have intensified, forming part of a sustained pattern of naval monitoring and deterrence.
Finally, it is worth mentioning that similar situations have already been recorded in other parts of the European region. In recent years, British ships, such as Type 23–class frigates, have been repeatedly deployed to monitor the navigation of Russian military and logistical vessels both in the English Channel and in the North Atlantic. Likewise, units of the British Royal Navy and P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft have closely followed the operations of Russian units, such as the research vessel Yantar, specialized in subsea operations.
*Cover image used for illustrative purposes
You may also like: The British Armed Forces supported the United States in the seizure of the Russian tanker Bella 1
