In a June 28 statement, the Russian Defense Ministry accused the guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely of violating worldwide maritime rules by coming within 70 meters of the naval frigate Yaroslav Mudry in global waters.
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In April, Russian jets in two separate incidents performed “barrel rolls” over U.S. Air Force aircraft, and earlier that month, two Russian jets flew closely to the U.S. Navy missile destroyer USS Donald Cook.
The encounter occurred in global waters.
“In particular, the United States sailors ignored rule 13 [“Overtaking”], which prescribes that any vessel overtaking any other “shall keep out of the way of the vessel being overtaken” and rule 15 [“Crossing Situation”], which clearly defines that “when two power-driven vessels are crossing so as to involve risk of collision, the vessel which has the other on her own starboard side shall keep out of the way and shall, if the circumstances of the case admit, avoid crossing ahead of the other vessel”, the ministry’s press office said”.
The Russian Defense Ministry then denied its acts were aggressive and insisted all flights were held in accordance with global law.
“As Gravely changed course and speed, the Neustrashimyy also changed course and speed”.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107) is pictured underway during the multinational UNITAS Atlantic 53-2012 exercise conducted in the western Caribbean Sea in this September 25, 2012 handout photo.
“This incident shows that US naval sailors allow themselves to forget about the fundamental principles of navigation security and give no thought to the consequences of such unsafe maneuvers in areas with heavy sea traffic”, the ministry said. She was commissioned in 2010 and sent to her first overseas deployment in the eastern Mediterranean three years later.
The incident happened in the Mediterranean Sea on June 17.
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The official added that the encounter lasted for more than an hour. “Having located the ship in a zone of visual sight, the pilots undertook a maneuver that was in accordance with all the necessary safety rules, ” Ministry of Defense spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.
