HMS Somerset was pictured leaving Plymouth Sound on the 27th of December, 2024, to shadow Russian warships through the English Channel.
The Type 23 frigate was deployed over the Christmas period at short notice to monitor a Russian task group from the North Sea into the English Channel. Thousands of our followers online were speculating over the festive period whether the ship was being deployed in the Baltic or in home waters to monitor Russian ships.
Nearly 200 crew members were called at short notice to Devonport on Christmas Day, and HMS Somerset was spotted on our live webcam leaving the Sound on the 27th of December, 2024, in the early afternoon. The Somerset made speed to shadow the Corvette RFS Soobrazitelny and her two support vessels, MV Sparta II and MV General Skobelev.
From the North Sea, the Russian ships were constantly monitored as they passed through the Dover Strait and into the English Channel. The Russian ships remained in international waters throughout the transit. The weather conditions were foggy in the Channel, and HMS Somerset’s extensive hi-tech sensors were used to follow the trio for more than 500 miles.
When the weather eventually cleared, the ship’s Merlin helicopter—provided by 814 Naval Air Squadron at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall—became airborne to support the monitoring mission and also capture imagery of both the Russian vessels and HMS Somerset’s shadowing operation used by the Ministry of Defence.
