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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iran/11568724/Iranian-force-seizes-US-cargo-ship.html
By David Lawler, Washington and Reuters
3:24PM BST 28 Apr 2015
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said an Iranian "force" seized a cargo ship after opening fire on it in the Gulf on Tuesday and directed it to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
A Pentagon spokesman said Iranian forces had boarded a Marshall Island-flagged vessel, the MV Maersk Tigris, in the Gulf. He said the boarding occurred after Iranian patrol boats fired shots across the vessel's bow and ordered it deeper into Iranian waters.
The ship had no US citizens aboard, the spokesman said, contradicting Al-Arabiya's report which said there were 34 US sailors on board. He said it was travelling through the Strait of Hormuz when the incident occurred.
There was no immediate word from Iranian officials.
Iran has in the past sometimes threatened to block the strait to advance its opposition to sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.
The channel is a narrow strip of water separating Oman and Iran. It connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
At its narrowest point, the strait is 33 km (21 miles) across and consists of 2-mile wide navigable channels for inbound and outbound shipping and a 2-mile-wide buffer zone.
16.26
US Naval officials told CNBC that the ship in question is the Marshall Islands-flagged Maersk Tigris. According to Marine Traffic, the ship departed a port in Saudi Arabia last Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive in the United Arab Emirates this evening.
The ship currently appears to be on course for Bandar Abbas, a port in Iran.
It is not immediately clear what motivated Iran to divert the ship, which has a gross weight of 526,000 tons.
16.36
We have just recieved a statement from the Col Steve Warren at the Pentagon. He confirms that the Iranians fired on a cargo ship, and that the ship was diverted into Iranian waters.:
"At approximately 0905 Zulu, April 28, M/V Maersk Tigris, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel, was approached by several Iranian IRGCN patrol vessels while in Iranian territorial waters transiting inbound in the Strait of Hormuz.
The master was contacted and directed to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters. He declined and one of the IRGCN craft fired shots across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris.
The master complied with the Iranian demand and proceeded into Iranian waters in the vicinity of Larak Island. NAVCENT directed a DDG (USS Farragut) to proceed at best speed to the nearest location of Maersk Tigris, and directed aircraft to observe the interaction between the Maersk vessel and the IRGCN craft.
NAVCENT is communicating with representatives of the shipping company and we continue to monitor the situation. According to information received from the vessel's operators, there are no Americans aboard."
By David Lawler, Washington and Reuters
3:24PM BST 28 Apr 2015
Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television said an Iranian "force" seized a cargo ship after opening fire on it in the Gulf on Tuesday and directed it to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas.
A Pentagon spokesman said Iranian forces had boarded a Marshall Island-flagged vessel, the MV Maersk Tigris, in the Gulf. He said the boarding occurred after Iranian patrol boats fired shots across the vessel's bow and ordered it deeper into Iranian waters.
The ship had no US citizens aboard, the spokesman said, contradicting Al-Arabiya's report which said there were 34 US sailors on board. He said it was travelling through the Strait of Hormuz when the incident occurred.
There was no immediate word from Iranian officials.
Iran has in the past sometimes threatened to block the strait to advance its opposition to sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.
The channel is a narrow strip of water separating Oman and Iran. It connects the biggest Gulf oil producers, such as Saudi Arabia, with the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea.
At its narrowest point, the strait is 33 km (21 miles) across and consists of 2-mile wide navigable channels for inbound and outbound shipping and a 2-mile-wide buffer zone.
16.26
US Naval officials told CNBC that the ship in question is the Marshall Islands-flagged Maersk Tigris. According to Marine Traffic, the ship departed a port in Saudi Arabia last Tuesday and was scheduled to arrive in the United Arab Emirates this evening.
The ship currently appears to be on course for Bandar Abbas, a port in Iran.
It is not immediately clear what motivated Iran to divert the ship, which has a gross weight of 526,000 tons.
16.36
We have just recieved a statement from the Col Steve Warren at the Pentagon. He confirms that the Iranians fired on a cargo ship, and that the ship was diverted into Iranian waters.:
"At approximately 0905 Zulu, April 28, M/V Maersk Tigris, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel, was approached by several Iranian IRGCN patrol vessels while in Iranian territorial waters transiting inbound in the Strait of Hormuz.
The master was contacted and directed to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters. He declined and one of the IRGCN craft fired shots across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris.
The master complied with the Iranian demand and proceeded into Iranian waters in the vicinity of Larak Island. NAVCENT directed a DDG (USS Farragut) to proceed at best speed to the nearest location of Maersk Tigris, and directed aircraft to observe the interaction between the Maersk vessel and the IRGCN craft.
NAVCENT is communicating with representatives of the shipping company and we continue to monitor the situation. According to information received from the vessel's operators, there are no Americans aboard."
