Royal Navy ships are being deployed on average twice a week to monitor Russian warships and sanctioned oil tankers, new figures show. The Navy “activated” ships 116 times in the past year to track nearly 90 Russian or Russian-linked vessels in the UK’s exclusive economic zone, reports say.

It follows warnings from the First Sea Lord that Russian incursions into British waters had soared by nearly a third in the last two years. General Sir Gwyn Jenkins has said Britain is facing an “open sea border” with Russia in the North Atlantic as tensions continue to rise between Moscow and NATO. The new figures were released in the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) annual report.

It said a total of 61 Russian warships and submarines were shadowed by the Navy during the last 12 months, according to The Telegraph.

While 28 “Russian merchant vessels”, suspected of being part of Moscow’s shadow fleet, were followed.

The vessels are accused of helping to fund Russia’s war on Ukraine by transporting oil and gas while evading international sanctions.

A defence source told The Telegraph that Moscow is “constantly trying to pressure the UK and tighten the screws”, describing it as a “significant challenge” for the Navy.

The ship was interdicted around 25 miles off the Isle of Wight in the first UK-led operation of its kind.

Britain had previously been accused of not doing enough to stop the sanctioned vessels.

A spokesman for the MoD said: “The Royal Navy monitors maritime activity around the UK 24/7 to protect our waters and critical national infrastructure. As Russian warships operate near our shores, our sailors and aircrew watch and track their every move.

“The defence investment plan outlines spending commitments to strengthen our deterrence – including our £1.5bn investment in creating a new hybrid Navy with state-of-the-art crewed ships and drones.”