Initial reports claim that Iran has seized a US cargo ship, but according to the Pentagon, the ship was not American and no Americans were aboard. Fox News reports that the ship is from Denmark.
Iranian Navy vessels fired shots at and boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged commercial container ship in the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday, a senior defense official told Fox News.
The Maersk Tigris ship — originally heading to Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates, is now being escorted by the Iranian Navy into waters near Bandar Abbas, home of Iran’s largest Navy base.
The USS Farragut, a guided missile destroyer, is making “best speed” en route to the area and has dispatched a helicopter to get a closer look, the official said.
Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the cargo ship’s master had initially refused an Iranian order to move further into Iranian waters, but after the warning shots were fired the Maersk Tigris complied.
The cargo ship, which had more than 30 people aboard, was directed to waters near Larak Island, he said.
The Iranian vessels, numbering five or six, were with the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, Warren said.
Related Image
The position of the Maersk Tigris Monday while being escorted by the Iranian Navy. (MarineTraffic.com)
“It is inappropriate” for the Iranians to have fired warning shots across the ship’s bridge in those circumstances, Warren said, adding that it was too early to know whether the Iranian intervention amounted to a violation of the freedom of navigation through a waterway heavily used by international shipping.
The spokesman said the U.S. government has “certain obligations” to defend the interests of the Marshall Islands, but he was uncertain how those obligations apply in this situation.
Warren said no one has been injured and no Americans are involved. The cargo ship issued a distress call and U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, based in the area.
A Maersk spokesman told Fox News that although Maersk, a Danish company based in Copenhagen, owns the vessel, it had “chartered” the ship to Rickmers Ship Management based in Hamburg, Germany. Maersk said it had no information about the crew or the cargo
I’m sure Obama told our guys to stand down!
did you know they’re starting construction on the 3rd temple in jersualem soon, and that’s it’s going to be a sabbatean synagogue? why don’t you go and research sabbatean judaism before you think israel is damn saintly
off topic slightly, saying the muslims, jews, and christians of palestine were not there first is like saying the native americans were not here first
or saying that the hindus were not in india first
iranian is not your enemy
Seize ? Obama gave it to them
Saudi Arabia blow up Yemen with f18 -Israel kill child an woman in Palestine and they have 200 nuclear weapon and for next year they have f35 too USA 🙂 is everywhere so who support terrorism ? of course Iran —why you Americans close your Eyes and don’t want to see the truth
it’s the legend of atlantis….or one of them at least…..
Crazy regime and obummer determined to make a deal with them.
Obviously, all this is being coordinated to bring about international problems to derail the nuclear deal.