USS Sterett boards cargo ship searching for Iranian arms

File photo: USS Sterett (DDG-104) Arleigh Burke class (Flight IIA) guided missile destroyer
[U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Travis K. Mendoza/Release]

According to the Wall Street Journal:

U.S. naval forces in the Red Sea this month boarded a freighter suspected of delivering Iranian weapons to Houthi rebels in Yemen, American military officials said.

The destroyer USS Sterett’s search of the Panamanian-flagged Saisaban on April 1 came up empty. But the officials said it marked the U.S. Navy’s first boarding operation in an expanding campaign to ensure Iran doesn’t supply game-changing weapons such as surface-to-air missiles that would threaten Saudi-led airstrikes on the Houthis.

COMMENTARY: Publicized USN interdiction efforts such as these serve to put Iran on notice that potential arms deliveries by sea in support of Ansarullah will actively be pursued.

Ship details for Panamanian-flagged Saisaban cargo ship are as follows:

IMO:  8604369
MMSI:  356813000
Call Sign:  3EOY2
Flag:  Panama (PA)
AIS Type:  CARGO

Gross Tonnage:  15847
Deadweight:  26648 t
Length × Breadth:  167.2m × 26.01m
Year Built:  1986

Builder : SHIN KURUSHIMA DOCKYARD TOKYO - JAPAN 

Former names:

- Maria A (Until 2012 Aug)

- African Cobra (Until 2008 Jan)

- Nerano (Until 2005 Feb)

- Emerald 10 (Until 1997)

- Emerald Sea (Until 1993)

- Nerano (Until 1988)

File photo: Saisaban cargo ship (while formerly named Maria A)

[photo: Gillian Moy]

File photo: Saisaban cargo ship (while formerly named Maria A)

[photo: Gillian Moy]

Stationary position on 10APR15 for Saisaban cargo ship  [source: AIS Marine Traffic]

Iran Sends Submarines to Red Sea

The semi-official Fars News Agency reported today that Iran has sent submarines to the Red Sea in the first such deployment by the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy (IRIN) in distant waters.

The report quoted an unnamed senior government official as saying the submarines accompanied Iranian warships on an anti-piracy route in the Gulf of Aden before they moved into the Red Sea earlier this month.

“The submarines, dispatched in Ordibehesht (last month), have entered the Red Sea after a mission in the Gulf of Aden to collect data on the sea bed in the high seas and to identify other warships,” Fars quoted the unnamed source. “They are accompanying an Iranian navy fleet,” [Fars News Agency, 7 June].

No other details on the number or capabilities of the submarines were available. IRIN has several types of submarines, including the 500-ton Nahang as well as older Kilo-class older Russian subs. Last year, Iran inaugurated of a new “semi-heavy” submarine, named Qaem, capable of operating in the high seas. IRIN also operates midget submarines of 120-ton Ghadir class.