By Justin Burke*
During the Cold War, it was not unheard of for Soviet ships to attempt to disrupt US naval operations by “shouldering” vessels, meaning coming abreast and colliding in a semi-controlled manner. A famous example is the Black Sea incident of 1988, when Soviet frigates “bumped” both the USS Yorktown and Caron which were exercising the right of innocent passage. (The Lowy Institute. The Interpreter.)
