Loose Lips Do Not Sink Ships, Public Apathy Does

[Timber Rattler]

https://gcaptain.com/loose-lips-sink-us-merchant-marine-navy-ships/

Last week, two US-flagged ships manned by US Merchant Mariners were targeted by Houthis and forced to turn around. This is a cause for concern due to the US Navy’s legal obligation to protect US Merchant Marine ships. However, what is more concerning is the secrecy surrounding the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian in the Red Sea.

At the start of the operation shipping executives and sailors aboard American merchant ships freely talked about their security concerns with journalists from gCaptain and other trade publications. No classified information was shared and caveats did exist, with most speaking off the record and certain information being asked not to print, but overall information flowed freely.

That changed earlier this month when gCaptain was informed that pressure was being applied by Department of Defense officials to refrain from speaking to the press. One senior executive informed gCaptain that security clearances were under review and he was cautioned that any unauthorized disclosures could jeopardize those clearances.

According to reports, at least one ship owner has allegedly threatened to blacklist American sailors who quit and speak about the dangers they encountered in the Red Sea.

This past week the tide turned to outright hostility toward the press when both gCaptain and Dr. Sal Mercogliano, host of the What’s Going On In Shipping channel on YouTube, received messages from shipping executives warning that information we are publishing is putting US Merchant Marine ships in mortal danger.

The concern is that Houthis who read gCaptain will obtain information that they can use to locate US-flagged ships. However, these hostile warnings fail to acknowledge that in today’s hyper-connected and satellite-saturated world, the US Navy is unable to keep the location of carrier groups a secret. Everything that gCaptain has published is already accessible through open-source intelligence.

Furthermore, this argument overlooks the fact that Iran is assisting the Houthis in targeting ships, and Iran has decades of experience in tracking and evading American assets in their efforts to evade sanctions.

EXCERPT


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tA7xfi8-mw