Australia Joins U.S.-led Gulf Security Mission
Australia will join the United States in a security mission to protect merchant vessels travelling through key Middle East waterways after Iran seized a British-flagged vessel, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Wednesday.Foremost among the areas to be patrolled is the Strait of Hormuz, between Oman and Iran, through which about one-fifth of the world's seaborne crude flows out of the Gulf.Global commodity trading has been rocked in recent months by the seizure of the British tanker and a series of attacks on international merchant vessels that the U.S. and Britain have blamed on Iran, though it denies involvement. Britain this month became the first U.S.
Bahrain Designated “Home Port” for U.S. Ships
In a move that is likely to increase repairs of U.S.-flagged ships at Bahrain’s ASRY, the Bahraini Government has entered into an agreement with the U.S. Government to designate Bahrain as a ‘home port’ for U.S. ships. ASRY has been repairing U.S. Navy and MSC ships for a number of years, especially during the Kuwait and Iraq Wars. On the commercial side, ASRY has also been carrying out emergency repairs to U.S.-flagged ships. However, under this new agreement, U.S.-flagged commercial vessels can now repair in ASRY without paying the 50% levy to the U.S. Government by repairing overseas. Bahrain is the only major Gulf shiprepair country to enter into this agreement with the U.S. Authorities.
Bahrain Releases Detained Ferry
Bahrain on Wednesday released a ferry carrying 150 people from Iraq to Dubai it had briefly detained after a passenger was accused of killing the ship's chief purser in an argument, officials said. They said a Bahraini, accused of killing the Sudanese chief purser, was also freed temporarily and would be arrested in Dubai by United Arab Emirates authorities. "Since the incident happened in international waters outside Bahraini territorial waters, the captain of the ship decided to hand over the suspect to the UAE authorities because the ship carries the UAE flag," one official said. "The Bahraini government is likely to ask for his extradition to stand trial in Bahrain," the official added.
