US patrols Strait of Hormuz after Iran seizes cargo ship
U.S. Navy coastal patrol ships travel alongside one another during a formation and maneuvers exercise in the Persian Gulf in 2014. Three of the vessels and the destroyer USS Farragut were patrolling the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, April 29, 2015, a day after Iranian patrol boats seized a container ship registered in the Marshall Islands.
Hendrick Simoes/Stars and Stripes
By Hendrick Simoes
Stars and Stripes
Published: April 29, 2015
MANAMA, Bahrain — The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Farragut along with three coastal patrol ships are patrolling the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of Iran’s seizure of a cargo ship flying the flag of a U.S.-protected island nation, U.S. 5th Fleet officials said Wednesday.
The Marshall Islands-flagged MV Maersk Tigris was transiting through the strategically important waterway on Tuesday when Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels fired warning shots and boarded the vessel. In response to the ship’s distress call, the USS Farragut and a Navy P-3 Orion aircraft were dispatched to the scene.
“We sent ships into the area to help monitor the situation and help maintain a U.S. naval presence in the vicinity of Strait of Hormuz,” Cmdr. Kevin Stephens, a spokesman for the U.S. 5th Fleet, said Wednesday.
Iran’s state-owned PressTV said the ship was “seized due to legal issues.”
The U.S. Navy ships are remaining in the area to help reassure maritime traffic.
Stephens said the U.S. Navy is communicating with shipping traffic through “a variety of means,” to ensure that mariners are aware of the event and that they understand how to respond if the situation is repeated. An official notice may be sent to mariners with a set of instructions, including on how to contact the U.S. Navy.
There have been no reported injuries to the crew of the Maersk Tigris, and no Americans were on board, according to the Pentagon.
The operator of the cargo vessel confirmed the crew was safe but said the company was still trying to determine why the ship was seized, The Associated Press reported.
About a fifth of the world’s oil transits through the strait, which is only about 21 miles wide at its narrowest point. In the past, Iran has threatened to block the waterway, a move that could spark a military conflict in the Persian Gulf.
American warships, from the Bahrain-based U.S. 5th Fleet and allied naval forces, routinely patrol the waterway and have conducted military drills aimed at countering threats, such as sea mines that Iran might use to close the strait.
U.S. 5th Fleet’s area of responsibility covers about 2.5 million square miles of water in the Middle East region. The Persian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Gulf of Aden and Red Sea contain three critical choke points for maritime shipping and navigation.
The Marshall Islands are an independent sovereign nation in the Pacific, but the U.S. has been responsible for its defense since World War II.
http://www.stripes.com/news/middle-east/us-patrols-strait-of-hormuz-after-iran-seizes-cargo-ship-1.343072
