DUBAI, United Arab Emirates: The US Navy has said that its sailors and the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy came to the aid of a ship in the crucial Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s Revolutionary Guard allegedly “harassed” it.
The US Navy said in a statement that three fast-attack guard vessels with armed troops on board approached the merchant ship at a close distance on Sunday afternoon. The Navy shared black-and-white images taken by a US Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon that was flying overhead, which showed three small ships close to the commercial vessel.
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 deescalated approximately 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.”
About 20% of the world’s oil passes through the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf called Strait of Hormuz. While the Navy didn’t identify the vessel involved, ship-tracking data from MarineTraffic.com analysed by The Associated Press (AP) showed the Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Venture erratically changed course as it travelled through the strait at the time of the incident.
Its area also matched information about the incident given by the UK Maritime Trade Operations, the UK army operation overseeing traffic in the region. The vessel resembled the pictures released by the Navy.
The ship’s registered manager, Trust Bulkers of Athens, Greece, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Iranian state media and the Revolutionary Guard didn’t immediately acknowledge the incident. Iran’s mission to the UN didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This latest incident comes after a series of maritime incidents involving Iran following the United States’ withdrawal from Tehran’s nuclear deal with global powers in 2018.
