The US Navy announced on Monday that its personnel and the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom aided a ship in the vital Strait of Hormuz after Iran's Revolutionary Guard "harassed" it.
On Sunday afternoon, three fast-attack Guard vessels carrying armed personnel approached the merchant ship from close range, according to a statement from the US Navy. It provided black-and-white images that it claimed originated from a US Navy Boeing P-8 Poseidon flying overhead and showed three small ships near the commercial ship.
US, UK Navies Say They Respond to Distress Call
The US Navy guided-missile destroyer USS McFaul and the Royal Navy frigate HMS Lancaster launched a helicopter in response to the incident. The commercial vessel continued traversing the Strait of Hormuz incident-free, ABC News reported.
Twenty percent of the world's crude passes through the constricted mouth of the Persian Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz. The Marshall Islands-flagged bulk carrier Venture changed course erratically as it traveled through the strait at the time of the incident, according to ship-tracking data analyzed by The Associated Press from MarineTraffic.com.
The Navy did not identify the vessel involved. Its location matched incident details provided by United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military operation supervising regional traffic. The vessel resembled the Navy's released photographs.
Trust Bulkers of Athens, Greece, the ship's registered manager, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Iranian state media and Revolutionary Guard did not acknowledge the incident immediately. The mission of Iran to the United Nations did not respond promptly to a request for comment.
This latest incident follows a string of maritime incidents involving Iran since the United States unilaterally withdrew from Tehran's nuclear agreement with world powers in 2018.
Per Aljazeera, the US is believed to have confiscated the tanker Suez Rajan, which is affiliated to a US private equity firm and was carrying sanctioned Iranian crude oil off the coast of Singapore.
According to ship-tracking data analyzed by the Associated Press, the Suez Rajan is currently located off the coast of Galveston, Texas, despite the fact that authorities have not confirmed the ship's seizure.
US-Iran Relationship
In May, Iran also confiscated the Panamanian-flagged tanker Niovi as it departed a dry berth in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, en route to Fujairah in the eastern United Arab Emirates. The Niovi received oil from a vessel known as the Oman Pride in July of 2020, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data obtained by the Associated Press.
In August of 2021, the US Treasury sanctioned the Oman Pride and others associated with it for "participating in an international oil smuggling network" that supported the Quds Force, the expeditionary element of the Guard that operates in the Middle East.
According to Times of Israel, cargo transported by the Niovi was illegally sold to Chinese companies.
Recent seizures have increased pressure on the United States, which has long been the security guarantee for Gulf Arab nations. The United Arab Emirates asserted last week that it "withdrew its participation" from the Combined Maritime Forces, a joint naval command, whereas the United States Navy stated that it was still a member of the group.
Meanwhile, the US military's Central Command announced on Saturday that its commander visited the region, met with the Emirati leader, and "discussed shared regional security concerns as well as US and UAE security partnerships."
The commanders of the US, British, and French navies stationed in the Middle East transited the Strait of Hormuz on a US warship last month, demonstrating their coordinated efforts to keep the vital waterway open after Tehran commandeered two oil tankers.
Related Article: Chinese Warship Nearly Collide With US Navy Destroyer; China Defends Actions, Accuses Washington of 'Provocation'
