Royal Navy warship monitors Russian ships in Moray Firth

A Royal Navy warship has been monitoring two Russian ships in the Moray Firth.

Patrol ship HMS Tyne has kept close watch on Viktor Leonov, an intelligence-gathering ship, and her supporting tanker Sergey Osipov.

They have been reportedly sailing just over 30 miles away from RAF Lossiemouth.

The Russian ships sheltered from Storm Aiden when it hit the country on October 31 and carried out replenishment operations before the Osipov left UK waters.

The role of Portsmouth-based HMS Tyne falls under Defence Task One - protecting the territorial integrity of the United Kingdom.

Lieutenant Justin Shirtcliff, the ship's operations officer, said: "It was apparent these two ships were making use of the shelter from the high winds and inclement seas of Storm Aiden, and Tyne remained close by to monitor their activity.

"HMS Tyne and her sailors remain ready for short-notice tasking, whatever the weather, wherever the task.''

It is the third time in a month that the patrol ship has shadowed foreign warships in British waters - partly in conjunction with Nato allies.

Tyne shadowed a group of Russian warships including corvette Vasily Bykov, a Kilo-class submarine and her accompanying support vessel, an ocean-going tug.

She was assisted by Portuguese frigate NRP Corte Real from Nato's Standing Maritime Group 1, which ensured constant surveillance of the Russian units as they moved through UK waters.

Having handed over monitoring duties to the UK's allies, Tyne headed south to observe another Russian unit, the Smolny, a cadet training ship, as it passed through UK waters.

In addition to monitoring duties, Tyne has also conducted her regular duties safeguarding the UK's fishing stock by checking hauls of vessels encountered off the east coast of the UK.

Lieutenant Commander Richard Skelton, Tyne's commanding officer, said: "Tyne has once again shown the adaptability of the Royal Navy's offshore patrol vessels and their crews.

"We have quickly changed tasks from monitoring foreign warships to conducting boarding operations to protect our fisheries.

"I am proud of the hard work from the ship's company that has made this possible.''