US, UK navies scramble to help ship ‘harassed’ by fast-attack craft from Iran
- Three fast-attack Revolutionary Guard vessels with armed troops aboard approached the merchant ship at a close distance, the US Navy said
- It prompted a US guided-missile destroyer and Royal Navy frigate to respond – with the latter launching a helicopter – to ‘de-escalate’ the situation
Three fast-attack Guard vessels with armed troops aboard approached the merchant ship at a close distance on Sunday afternoon, the US Navy said in a statement. It offered black-and-white images it said came from a US Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon overhead, which showed three small ships close to the commercial ship.
The US Navy’s guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul and the Royal Navy’s frigate HMS Lancaster responded to the incident, with the Lancaster launching a helicopter.
“The situation de-escalated around an hour later when the merchant vessel confirmed the fast-attack craft departed the scene,” the Navy said. “The merchant ship continued transiting the Strait of Hormuz without further incident.”
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, sees 20 per cent of the world’s oil pass through it.
While the US Navy did not identify the vessel involved, ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic.com analysed by reporters showed the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Venture erratically changed course as it travelled through the strait at the time of the incident. Its location also matched information about the incident given by the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military operation overseeing traffic in the region. The vessel also resembled the images released by the US Navy.
The ship’s registered manager, Trust Bulkers of Athens, Greece, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iranian state media and the Revolutionary Guard did not immediately acknowledge the incident. Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Iran plans naval alliance with Gulf states, includes India, Pakistan
While authorities have not acknowledged the Suez Rajan’s seizure, the vessel is now off the coast of Galveston, Texas, according to ship-tracking data analysed by reporters.
Meanwhile, Iran separately seized the Niovi, a Panama-flagged tanker, as it left a dry dock in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, bound for Fujairah on the UAE’s eastern coast. While not carrying any cargo, data from S&P Global Market Intelligence seen by reporters showed the Niovi in July 2020 received oil from a ship known then as the Oman Pride.
02:44
Iran’s new missile can reportedly reach Israel and US military bases in Middle East
Satellite images analysed by reporters show those two vessels anchored off Bandar Abbas, Iran.
The recent seizures have put new pressure on the US, long the security guarantor for Gulf Arab nations. The United Arab Emirates claimed last week it earlier “withdrew its participation” from a joint naval command called the Combined Maritime Forces though the US Navy said it was still in the group. Meanwhile, the US military’s Central Command said on Saturday its chief visited the region, met with Emirati leader Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and “discussed shared regional security concerns as well as US and UAE security partnerships”.
The Middle East-based commanders of the US, British and French navies last month also transited the Strait of Hormuz on Friday aboard an American warship, a sign of their unified approach to keep the crucial waterway open after Iran seized the two oil tankers.
