The Admiral Kuznetsov attracted the most attention, looking like a second world war battleship, with clouds of black smoke billowing from its funnels. A fighter jet was clearly visible on the deck, glistening in the sunshine.
The Russian ships, shadowed by Royal Navy vessels, were interspersed with P&O and DFDS ferries sailing in and out of the port of Dover and by cargo and container ships in one of the busiest and most congested shipping lanes in the world.
Theresa May’s deputy official spokesman rejected suggestions that it was a sign of weakness that Russia felt able to send its ships via this route. A Downing Street spokesman said: “I would reject suggestions that the Russians feel we are too weak. Clearly, we are not weak at all.”
The type-45 destroyer HMS Duncan sailed from Portsmouth on Tuesday to “man-mark” the Kuznetsov group, and the type-23 frigate HMS Richmond escorted the group from the Norwegian Sea as it steamed south.