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Andy said crossing the Tsugaru Strait in Japan, which left him requiring hospital treatment, was the toughest leg despite being the second shortest of the challenge.

The next four crossings - the Molokai Channel in Hawaii, the Strait of Gibraltar between Spain and Morocco, the Catalina channel from Santa Catalina to Los Angeles and the Tsugaru Strait - were crammed into three months between April and July.

The warships last week conducted what were termed highly concentrated strategic passages through three waterways, transiting through the Tsushima Strait between Japan and Korea; the Tsugaru Strait between Japan’s two main islands; and the Soya Strait, located between Russia’s Sakhalin Island and Japan’s northernmost island of Hokkaido.

The spy vessel was seen sailing about 18 miles southwest of Cape Tappi before sailing through the Tsugaru Strait separating Honshu and Hokkaido.

The ministry also found several Chinese intelligence ships near the Tsugaru Strait in northern Japan, just days after they were seen in waters off southern Japan.