Iran Releases Seized Cargo Ship

Iran has released the Maersk Tigris, a container ship it seized in the Strait of Hormuz last week. Marzieh Afkham, the spokeswoman for the Iranian foreign ministry, said the Maersk Tigris had “left Iranian territorial waters.” (ISNA/BBC, 7 May)

The Marshall Islands-flagged vessel was intercepted by IRGC Navy patrol boats on 28 April.

Maersk Meets Iran Officials over Seizure of Vessel

No Progress Reported

Maersk Line said on Monday it had met with Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization (PMO) regarding the seizure of the vessel Maersk Tigris but has yet to receive any official documents from Iranian authorities.

“We have yet to receive any written notifications, court ruling, arrest order or similar, pertaining to the seizure of Maersk Tigris or the cargo case,” Maersk said in a written statement. (Reuters, 4 May)

Iran has said the seizure of the vessel at he Strait of Hormuz by the IRGC Navy concerns a years-old case over uncollected cargo and an unpaid bill. Iran took the unusual step of seizing the vessel at sea and forcing it to sail to an Iranian port. For safety reasons, commercial ships involved in legal disputes are arrested while already docked at a port.

The Maersk Tigris is not owned by the Danish shipping giant. Maersk had chartered the vessel, which is owned by Singapore’s Rickmer Shipmanagement. 

Maersk called again for the crew and the vessel to be released immediately.

File photo: The Maersk Tigris (abc)

U.S. Navy to Accompany American Ships in Persian Gulf

U.S. Navy will begin accompanying American commercial ships as they travel the Strait of Hormuz, Fox News reported today. 

The IRGC Navy seized a Marshall-Islands flagged vessel traveling the Strait on Tuesday. U.S. officials said the U.S. and Marshall Islands are in contact over the incident.

Photo: The Maersk Tigris (Damietta Port Authority via Defense News)

 

Iran Intercepts Cargo Ship at Strait of Hormuz

U.S. Moves to Respond

Iranian patrol vessels today fired shots across the bow of a cargo ship flagged to the Marshal Islands, forcing it to travel into Iranian waters. There are still gaps of information about how the incident began. The Iranian forces then boarded the cargo ship, the Maersk Tigris. The incident occurred at around 1:30 pm local time (5:00 am EST).

After receiving a distress signal from the Maersk, U.S. Central Command’s Naval Forces Central dispatched the destroyer Farragut to proceed to the location of the vessel and dispatched a maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft to observe the situation, the Pentagon announced. (Defense News, 28 April)

Marshal Islands have security and defense arrangements with the U.S. But there were no American citizens onboard the vessel, which has a crew of 34. The ship was traveling from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia to Jebel Ali in the UAE. It was now in the vicinity of Iran’s Larak Island in the Strait of Hormuz.

Factors that could have affected Iran’s highly unusual decision to seize the cargo ship were not known at this time. Last week, the U.S. Navy blocked an Iranian convoy of several freighters led by IRGCN warships suspected of attempting to deliver arms to the Huthi insurgents in Yemen. The convoy reversed course in the direction of home. Public comments out of Iran on that incident manifest a high degree of frustration, even anger, at the U.S. move. Today, the Maersk was traveling between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The two countries are perceived by Iran as the leaders of an anti-Iran Sunnis coalition in Yemen and elsewhere.

UPDATE: Iran's official news agency IRNA reports that the seizure of the Maersk Tigris was because of an outstanding warrant by an Iranian court against the Maersk shipping lines. IRNA said the warrant was issued after a private Iranian company had filed a claim that Maersk owed money to the company.

The explanation offered by IRNA creates more questions than answers. The IRGC Navy is sent to intercept and seize a cargo ship at the Strait of Hormuz to enforce a civil law suit by an unnamed private company in Iran against a shipping giant during a tense period in the region. Highly unusual, indeed!

File photo: The Maersk Tigris (Damietta Port Authority via Defense News)

Quake Shakes Qeshm

A 5.1 magnitude earthquake shook Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday at 10 am (0430 GMT), the U.S. Geological Survey reported. The tremor was felt as far away as Dubai. The epicenter was 66 kilometers (41 miles) south of the island. IRNA, the Iranian official news agency, later reported the quake’s magnitude slightly higher at 5.2 and said there were no reports of casualties.

Merchant Ship Attacked in Strait of Hormuz

A merchant ship came under attack today in the Strait of Hormuz. Six unknown assailants armed with machine guns shot at the ship from a speedboat in close range; Reuters quoted NATO Shipping Center as saying. The ship reportedly repelled the attack with hoses and the vessel and crew are safe.

The attack happened on the Gulf of Oman side of the Strait of Hormuz. Earlier in the day, an oil tanker was approached by two speedboats with crews wearing military uniform, NATO said.

“Two green colored skiffs with three-four persons on board in military clothing and armed with machines guns got to 150 meters of a merchant vessel,” the NATO merchant shipping alert service said in a statement. “After a while the skiffs turned away to Iranian coast.” (Reuters, 30 March)

It was too early to say if the two incidents, 90 minutes apart in the same general area, were related. NATO did not offer any comments, but said it will investigate the incidents.

Image credit: Map of Strait of Hormuz (GraphicMaps/WorldAtlas.com)

Earthquake Hits Southern Iran

A 6.2 magnitude earthquake shook southern Iran early Saturday morning, followed by at least 12  aftershocks, one as big as 5.6 magnitude. The quake's epicenter was near the cities of Jask and Minab and it was felt on the shores of the Persian Gulf near the Strait of Hormuz. Preliminary reports indicate that a 2-year old boy is killed and 15 other people have been injured by the tremor. 

Iranian Diplomat Offers Grim Prediction on Syria Conflict

Syria is unlikely to see peace in 2013 as the fighting in the country edges closer to civil war, Iran's ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Danaie-Far said on Thursday.

“I believe it is far-fetched,” he said when asked if he thought there could be peace in Syria this year. “It is unlikely, but we have also noted there were some signals in the past one to two months,” he added of remarks by UN peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi which he said Iran interpreted as marking the “end of the process of military options.” (Middle East Online, 24 January)

On the question if he believed some rebels had legitimate grievances, despite the regime branding them “terrorists,” Danaie-Far said: “There are serious opponents and serious defenders and they are fighting together.”

“Not anybody who objects (to) the Syrian government is a terrorist,” he said. “But they (rebels) have created the conditions where mercenary money and weaponry are injected into Syria.”

Danaie-Far claimed that 70 percent of rebel-held territory was under the control of the jihadist Al-Nusra Front.

Meanwhile, in an interview with AFP on Thursday, Danaie-Far said Iran could close the Strait of Hormuz if “U.S. chooses war.”

“The United States has nothing left to pressure Tehran over its nuclear program except for war, and if it chooses conflict Iran retained the right to close the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. (AFP, 24 January)

Photo credit: Iran's ambassador to Baghdad Hassan Danaie-Far during the interview in Baghdad. Thursday 24 January. (AFP/Middle East Online)

Iran Denies Blocking Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian Navy announced today it is not planning to close the Strait of Hormuz during its ongoing “Velayat 91” drills that will end Wednesday.

“The Navy has issued no warnings [about the closure]. Under international regulations, notification is to be sent to ships passing by during any military drill in order to prevent potential damage,” said Rear Admiral Amir Rastegari, IRIN spokesman. (Press TV, 29 December)

Adm. Rastegari was responding to media reports that the IRIN had already issued such warning to foreign vessels.

File photo: (Reuters/Fars News/Hamed Jafarnejad)

Iran Starts Navy Drills in Strait of Hormuz

Iran today started six-day naval exercises in the Strait of Hormuz. IRIN Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said the “Velayat 91” drills would last until Wednesday across an area of about 1 million square kilometers in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf of Oman and northern parts of the Indian Ocean. (IRNA, 28 December)

Adm. Sayyari had said on Tuesday that the new drill would test the navy's missile systems, combat ships, submarines and patrol and reconnaissance methods.

Rear Admiral Qolam Reza Biqam, IRIN deputy commander, told reporters today that the IRIN will closely coordinate the exercises with the IRGC Navy and will use IRGC drones throughout the six-day drills. (Fars News Agency, 28 December)

File photo: An IRIN warship (ISNA)