---
title: "Videos show a Russian warship getting way too close to a US Navy destroyer in the Arabian Sea"
description: "The Ivan Kuhrs, a Russian Navy intelligence collection ship, drew within 60 yards of the USS Farragut in the North Arabian Sea on Thursday before pulling away, the Navy said."
date: "2020-01-10"
modified: "2020-01-10"
authors:
  - name: "David Roza"
    job_title: "YouTube Writer/Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/david-roza/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/russia-ship-nearly-collides-us-destroyer/"
categories:
  - "Around the World"
  - "Destroyers"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "Navy"
  - "News"
  - "Russia"
  - "Ships"
  - "Tech & Tactics"
tags:
  - "European Command"
  - "video"
---

# Videos show a Russian warship getting way too close to a US Navy destroyer in the Arabian Sea

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/22498740-1.jpg>)

There's aggressive driving, and then there's aggressive driving with a 4,000 ton warship.

That's the kind of driving the crew of the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Farragut had to deal with in the Arabian Sea on Thursday when the Ivan Khurs, a Russian Navy intelligence collection ship, aggressively approached the U.S. Navy destroyer and came within 60 yards of the U.S. vessel before altering course and falling behind it, a Navy spokesman told Task & Purpose.

"Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of a collision, and requested the Russian ship alter course in accordance with international rules of the road," Lt. Peter Pagano, a spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet, said in a statement. "The Russian ship initially refused but ultimately altered course and the two ships opened distance from one another."

"While the Russian ship took action, the initial delay in complying with international rules while it was making an aggressive approach increased the risk of collision," Pagano added.

The 5th Fleet shared dramatic video of the encounter on [Twitter.](<https://twitter.com/US5thFleet/status/1215658745205796864>)

https://twitter.com/US5thFleet/status/1215658745205796864

https://twitter.com/US5thFleet/status/1215658818882998272

This isn't the first time a Russian vessel has come dangerously close to a U.S. Navy warship at sea.

This past June, Russian destroyer Admiral Vinogradov came within 165 feet of the USS Chancellorsville in the East China Sea. Notably, some of the Russian sailors appeared to be sunbathing during the near-collision, which on an American highway would probably count as distracted driving.

The near-collision comes as tensions in the region between the U.S. and Iran have soared to a historic high — and as Russian influence in the region, often in the form of weapons sales, appears to be growing unabated.

## Author
David Roza writes scripts about military news for the Task & Purpose YouTube channel, and he also writes articles about military pay, benefits, health care, child care, culture, and other personnel topics on a freelance basis.

Roza previously covered the Air Force and Space Force for Task & Purpose from 2019 to 2023 and for Air & Space Forces Magazine from 2023 to 2025. In the course of that reporting, he has set off a ‘Hollywood explosion’ with Air Force bomb techs, turned the (unarmed) keys of a nuclear missile bunker, hovered over the Nevada desert on an Air Force rescue helicopter, and got the best sleep of his life on the floor of a C-17 over the central Pacific.

Share tips and story ideas with David at [david.roza@teamrecurrent.io](<mailto:david.roza@teamrecurrent.io>)