Long-Deployed Russian Frigate Leaves English Channel
The Russian frigate RFS Admiral Grigorovich (F494), which has been stationed in the English Channel for several months, arrived back in Baltiysk, its home port in the Kaliningrad enclave, on July 16.
The frigate Admiral Grigorovich arrived in Baltiysk, Kaliningrad region.
— Massimo Frantarelli (@MrFrantarelli) July 16, 2026
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The Admiral Grigorovich has been away from home for more than 100 days, primarily stationed in the English Channel to deter the Royal Navy from seizing dark fleet tankers. For some of this time, the ship has appeared to be low on fuel, drifting with engines on idle, and has been observed taking on fuel in ship-to-ship transfers from the Project 304 Amur Class floating repair ship PM-82, on the last occasion observed tied up together amidst the Galloper Wind Farm 15nm off the Suffolk coast.
The Admiral Grigorovich also attracted some attention when it fired warning shots at a British-flagged yacht, the Bright Future (MMSI 235086766), which got too close to the frigate in thick sea fog on June 16 while on passage across the English Channel.
It is not clear if the Admiral Grigorovich has been permanently relieved, or is merely taking a break. Its place in the English Channel has been taken by the frigate Neustrashimy (F712), also home-ported with the Baltic Fleet in Kaliningrad.
The lead ship of the Neustrashimy Class was launched in 1988, but completed a lengthy refit in 2023; in terms of complement and equipment, frigates of these two classes are broadly comparable, and like the Admiral Grigorovich, the Neustrashimy appears to have deployed without its Ka-27 anti-submarine warfare helicopter.
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On July 17, the Neustrashimy was spotted by a Sky News helicopter 36 nm east of Clacton-On-Sea in calm seas, where once again the repair ship PM-82 was providing a ship-to-ship transfer of fuel and stores. The appearance of the Neustrashimy off Clacton is not thought to be connected in any partisan manner with a politically important by-election taking place in the seaside town. The helicopter closely overflew the two ships, and is probably lucky not to have been fired upon.
In happier days during November 2008, the Neustrashimy worked with Royal Marines launched from HMS Cumberland (F85), capturing a group of pirates off the Somali coast who had been attempting to seize the Danish-flagged merchant vessel MV Powerful (IMO 9042233).
