By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity
WASHINGTON, May 1, 2015 – Ships from U.S. Naval Forces
Central Command in Bahrain have begun accompanying U.S.-flagged maritime
traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Department officials said.
Sufficient U.S. naval forces are assigned to the command to
meet the requirements of the accompanying mission, officials said, adding that
Navcent will coordinate with shipping-industry representatives to ensure the
operations go smoothly and efficiently.
The mission was prompted by two incidents this week in the
Strait of Hormuz in which Iranian navy patrol vessels harassed commercial motor
vessels traversing the strait.
On April 24, four Iranian patrol boats approached the
U.S.-flagged merchant ship Maersk Kensington, Pentagon spokesman Army Col.
Steve Warren said during an April 29 briefing.
First Incident
“The boats came astern of the Kensington and followed her
for 15 or 20 minutes in actions that the Kensington’s master interpreted as
aggressive,” he added.
There was no U.S. military involvement at the time, but
after the incident, the ship's master filed a report with Navcent, Warren said.
“It's difficult to know exactly why the Iranians are
operating this way,” Warren said. “We certainly call on them to respect all the
internationally established rules of freedom of navigation, the law of the sea
to which they are a signatory, and other established protocols.”
Then on April 28 at about 2:05 a.m. EST, Iranian patrol
vessels approached the M/V Maersk Tigris, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo
vessel, Warren said in a briefing that day.
Maersk Tigris
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a sovereign nation
for which the United States has full authority and responsibility for security
and defense under the terms of an amended security compact that entered into
force in 2004.
The United States and the Marshall Islands have full
diplomatic relations, according to the U.S. State Department, and the security
compact between the two nations includes matters related to vessels flying the
Marshallese flag.
The Maersk Tigris was in Iranian territorial waters that
also contain internationally recognized commercial shipping lanes, Warren said,
adding that the Strait of Hormuz is in Iranian territorial waters, which is
within 12 miles of the Iranian coast. But because the narrow strait is
recognized as containing international shipping lanes, he added, the principle
of “innocent passage” is applied, so ships that abide by international rules of
the sea are authorized to pass through the strait.
Innocent Passage
Warren said no Americans are among the 30 or so people
aboard the Maersk Tigris.
The Tigris was transiting inbound, or north, in the Strait
of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the Arabian Sea.
The strait is one of the world’s major strategic choke points, according to the
U.S. Energy Information Administration.
“The ship's master was contacted [by one of the Iranian
ships] and directed to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters,” Warren
said during an April 28 briefing. “He declined, and one of the [Iranian] craft
fired shots across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris.”
Afterward, the master complied with the Iranian demand and
motored into Iranian waters near Larak Island, Warren said. Larak Island is off
the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf. The master then issued a distress call.
Boarding the Tigris
Warren said initial reports indicated that members of the
Iranian navy had boarded the Tigris. Navcent, having picked up the distress
signal, directed the USS Farragut, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile
destroyer, to proceed to the nearest location to the Maersk Tigris, Warren
said. Navcent also directed a Navy maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft
to observe the interaction between the Maersk vessel and the Iranian craft, he
added.
The Tigris’s destination, according to a marine-traffic
website, was Jebel Ali, a port town 22 miles southwest of Dubai in the United
Arab Emirates.
Maritime Security Operations
During an April 29 briefing, Warren said the USS Farragut
was operating along with three U.S. Navy Cyclone-class coastal patrol ships --
the USS Typhoon, the USS Thunderbolt and the USS Firebolt -- all stationed in
Manama, Bahrain.
The ships are conducting maritime security operations,
maintaining continual U.S. presence and supporting the monitoring of the Maersk
Tigris, which is at anchor near Larak Island and Bandar Abbas, he said.
“As is always the case, these assets give commanders
options,” Warren said, adding that the U.S. government is in discussions with
the Marshall Islands on the way ahead.
Warren said the Navy ships’ mission is to conduct maritime
security operations, “but what they’re doing is keeping an eye on things.”
Traversing the Strait
All of the ships are operating in the Persian Gulf, in the
Strait of Hormuz, near where the Maersk Tigris incident occurred, he added.
They are close enough to the Maersk Tigris, Warren said, “that they'll be able
to respond if a response is required.”
“Two [incidents] within four or five days has certainly
created a situation where maritime cargo vessels presumably would have to
consider the risks of traversing that strait,” he added.
Warren said that Iran's motive is not clear to the Defense
Department and that DoD is not in contact with the Iranian government.
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