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20 May 2015

Iran Ship to Red Sea Could spark Yemen Showdown

An Iranian cargo ship heading to Yemen is expected to cross into the Red Sea on Thursday, state news agency IRNA reported, amid fears of a showdown with Saudi-led forces enforcing restrictions on Yemeni ports. The approaching vessel threatens to broaden a regional confrontation over Yemen -- where Saudi Arabia and its Sunni Muslim allies have launched almost two months of attacks on Houthi fighters it says are armed by Shi'ite power Iran. Tehran dismisses the allegation. "If the weather and the ship's technical conditions persist ... we will enter the Bab al-Mandeb strait tomorrow morning," the Iran Shahed's captain Massoud Ghazi Mirsaid was quoted as saying on Wednesday, referring to a stretch of water linking the Gulf of Aden with the Red Sea.

19 May 2015

Iran Warships 'Linked Up' with Yemen-bound Cargo Ship

The Pentagon said on Tuesday that two Iranian warships had linked up with a cargo ship that Iran says is carrying humanitarian aid to Yemen, adding it was monitoring the ships "every step of the way."   "We're not overly concerned at this point. It's a single ship that we've got very good accountability of," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told a news briefing.   Warren said the two warships "linked up" with the cargo ship when it passed an area where they had been conducting, according to Tehran, counter-piracy operations. Another Pentagon spokesman said this happened on Monday.     (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Will Dunham)

14 May 2015

No Iran Warships Escorting Yemen-bound Cargo Ship

Iran has so far refrained from deploying warships to accompany a cargo ship that Tehran says is carrying humanitarian aid to Yemen, despite its announced plans to do so, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren told a news briefing on Thursday.   Yemen said on Wednesday that if Iran does not allow a cargo ship bound for the Arabian Peninsula to be searched, then Tehran "bears complete responsibility for any incident that arises from their attempt to enter Yemeni waters."   The United States has criticized Iran's announced plans to send the ship directly to Yemen and urged Tehran to redirect the ship to Djibouti, from where the United Nations is coordinating aid distribution.     (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Will Dunham)

12 May 2015

US Calls on Iran to Redirect Yemen-bound Cargo Ship

The United States called on Iran on Tuesday to send humanitarian relief for Yemen to a U.N. distribution center in Djibouti and criticized plans, reported by Iranian state media, for Iranian warships to escort a cargo vessel directly to Yemen. The Pentagon said it was watching the ship, the Iran Shahed, which Tehran says is carrying humanitarian supplies. Iran's state news agency IRNA said the vessel left on Monday for the Yemeni port Hodaida, which is held by Iran-allied Houthi fighters. "If the Iranians follow U.N. protocol, move the ship to a port in Djibouti, allow the humanitarian cargo they claim is on the ship to be distributed through U.N. channels, then they will have done the right thing in this case," Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said. The White House said the U.N.

06 May 2015

US Navy Stops Accompanying Ships through Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. Navy has stopped accompanying commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a mission it began last week in the wake of Iran's seizure of a cargo ship, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.   Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the decision was taken after several days of accompanying U.S. and British commercial ships without incident. He stressed that U.S. Navy ships in the area would still conduct routine maritime security operations.     (Reporting by Phil Stewart; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

04 May 2015

US Warships Accompany British Commercial Ships in Strait

U.S. Navy warships have begun accompanying British-flagged commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz as a result of Iran's detention of a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship last week, the Pentagon said on Monday. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. Navy had accompanied one British ship through the strait, one of the world's most important oil shipping channels, following talks between Washington and London. "They've asked if we would accompany their flagged vessels through the strait," Warren told reporters. The Navy has been accompanying U.S.-flagged ships traversing the strait for several days in response to last week's detention of the MV Maersk Tigris by Iranian Revolutionary Guard patrol boats.

03 May 2015

USN Escort U.S. Flagged Ships in Strait of Hormuz

Ships from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain have begun accompanying U.S.-flagged maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, Defense Department officials said. Sufficient U.S. naval forces are assigned to the command to meet the requirements of the accompanying mission, officials said, adding that Navcent will coordinate with shipping-industry representatives to ensure the operations go smoothly and efficiently. The mission was prompted by two incidents this week in the Strait of Hormuz in which Iranian navy patrol vessels harassed commercial motor vessels traversing the strait. On April 24, four Iranian patrol boats approached the U.S.-flagged merchant ship Maersk Kensington, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren said during an April 29 briefing.

29 Apr 2015

US, Marshall Islands Discuss Way Ahead After Iran Detains Ship

Officials from the United States and the Marshall Islands are discussing "the way ahead" after Iranian patrol boats forcibly diverted a cargo ship flying a Marshall Islands flag into an anchorage in Iranian waters, the Pentagon said on Wednesday. A U.S. Navy destroyer, the Farragut, and three coastal patrol ships, the Thunderbolt, Firebolt and Typhoon, were operating in the vicinity of the Strait of Hormuz conducting maritime security operations following the detention of the cargo ship, the MV Maersk Tigris, the Pentagon said. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said U.S. forces also had reconnaissance aircraft in the area to monitor developments with the Maersk Tigris…

29 Apr 2015

MAIB Blames 'Structural Weakness' in Cheeki Rafiki Capsize

An accident report into the loss of the Cheeki Rafiki mid-way through a transatlantic crossing last May, found that undetected damage to fittings around the keel after a string of earlier groundings are among the likely causes, says the Telegraph. The loss of four UK sailors in the Atlantic was "a tragic accident", the head of the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said. Days later the hull of the 40ft yacht was found with its life raft still on board. There was no sign of the crew. The loss of the yacht Cheeki Rafiki and its four crew in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 720 miles east–south-east of Nova Scotia, Canada was happened on 16 May 2014.

28 Apr 2015

Iran Interception of Cargo Ship Appears 'Provocative' -Pentagon

The Pentagon on Tuesday said Iran's interception of a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel appeared to be a "provocative" act, but U.S. officials did not have all the facts surrounding the incident. Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the decision by Iranian naval forces to fire warning shots over the bow of the ship was "inappropriate." He said a U.S. Navy destroyer was headed in that direction to monitor the situation. A U.S. Navy maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft was also dispatched. It was not clear what the U.S. defense obligation was to the Pacific island nation. "At first appearance it does seem to be provocative behavior, but again we don't have all the facts yet," Warren told a Pentagon news briefing.

28 Apr 2015

Oil Rallies Briefly after Iran Seizes Cargo Ship

Oil prices rallied briefly on Tuesday after reports that Iran had seized a cargo vessel, described initially by Iranian and Saudi media as a U.S. ship, raised geopolitical tensions and concerns about the security of Middle East crude shipments. A weaker dollar was also supportive to the oil market which was down sharply earlier on expectations that industry data due later in the day would show U.S. crude stockpiles at record highs for the 16th consecutive week. Futures of Brent, the more widely-used global oil benchmark, were up 12 cents at $64.95 a barrel by 11:11 a.m. EDT (1511 GMT) after rallying to as high as $65.49. U.S. crude futures were down 10 cents at $56.88 a barrel, after soaring to $57.83 earlier.

28 Apr 2015

Iranian Forces Board Maersk Tigris in Gulf -Pentagon

Iranian forces boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf on Tuesday after patrol boats fired warning shots across its bow and ordered it deeper into Iranian waters as it was traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon said.   The ship, the MV Maersk Tigris, initially ignored Iranian patrol boats that ordered it deeper into Iranian territorial waters but complied after the vessels fired several warning shots, U.S. Army Colonel Steve Warren said.   U.S. forces in the region responded to distress calls from the Maersk Tigris, sending the destroyer USS Farragut to monitor the situation along with reconnaissance aircraft. No U.S. citizens were aboard the cargo ship, Warren said.     (Reporting by David Alexander; Editing by Susan Heavey)

24 Apr 2015

Iran Moves Ships, Reducing Tensions Near Yemen

U.S. Navy aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (U.S. Navy photo by Anna Van Nuys)

A flotilla of nine Iranian military and cargo ships that U.S. officials feared was carrying arms to strife-torn Yemen sailed northeast in the direction of Iran on Friday, a move the Pentagon said helped to ease U.S. concerns. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, said the flotilla was in international waters about midway along the coast of Oman on Friday and still headed northeast. He declined to say the ships were going back to Iran or headed toward Iran. Warren said the U.S. military did not know their intent and the vessels could turn around at any point.

24 Apr 2015

Iranian Ships Turn Away from Yemen

An Iranian convoy, believed to be carrying weapons destined for the Houthi rebels in Yemen, turned around and is headed north towards home country, WSJ quoted as U.S. defense officials saying. The cargo ships, accompanied by two Iranian warships, shifted course as a U.S. aircraft carrier moved within 200 nautical miles of the flotilla. The flotilla of nine slow-moving Iranian cargo vessels was in the area of the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Aden, south of Oman and still east of the Yemeni border, says another report in Reuters. The Iranian ships, which had been moving slowly toward Yemen's capital of Aden, are no longer steaming in that direction, Army Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Thursday.

21 Apr 2015

Iranian Flotilla a Factor in US Warship Deployment off Yemen

U.S. Navy photo by Anna Van Nuys

The Pentagon said on Tuesday the presence of a large convoy of Iranian cargo ships in the Arabian Sea was one factor in the U.S. decision to deploy additional warships in the waters off war-torn Yemen but was not the primary reason for the move. Army Colonel Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman, also said he did not believe Navy warships patrolling the region had been in direct contact with the Iranian flotilla of nine cargo ships. Warren dismissed reports the carrier USS Theodore…

25 May 2014

USCG Ends Search For Missing British Yacht Sailors

A renewed search for four British sailors who vanished with their yacht a week ago in the Atlantic was called off late on Friday, hours after the overturned vessel was spotted at sea with no sign of its crew, the U. S. Coast Gurad said. The missing men, all experienced sailors, ran into trouble last Friday, May 16, as they were returning to Britain from a sailing event in Antigua in the Caribbean. They had reported that their vessel, the 39-foot (12 meter) Cheeki Rafiki, was taking on water, forcing them to change course for the Azores. On Friday, a U.S. Navy search team discovered the capsized vessel about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but detected no sign of the crew, the U. S. Coast Guard said in a statement.

23 May 2014

SAR Effort for UK Sailors Will End PM Friday

A search for four British sailors missing in the Atlantic Ocean after their yacht capsized a week ago will be called off by midnight on Friday if no sign of the men is found, British and U.S. authorities said. The four yachtsmen went missing a week ago as they were returning to Britain from a sailing event in Antigua in the Caribbean and reported that their vessel, the Cheeki Rafiki, was taking on water, forcing them to change course for the Azores. U.S. authorities abandoned a search after two days due to treacherous conditions but resumed the hunt on Tuesday after a request from the British government and a public petition signed by over 200,000 people. Captain Anthony Popiel from the U.S.

22 May 2014

Debris found in Atlantic search for missing UK sailors

The crew of a charter boat taking part in a search for four British sailors missing in the Atlantic Ocean has found some floating debris in the area where their yacht went missing six days ago, the captain said on Thursday. Patrick Michel, skipper of the Masili, said his crew had spotted a wooden plank that could be part of the cabin and some white foam or plastic in the northern part of the search area. He said the debris appeared new as it was free of barnacles but the owner of the missing yacht, the Cheeki Rafiki, would need to confirm that the debris was from the boat. "We did see during this night a few little (pieces of) debris which I have reported to the U.S.

21 May 2014

Cheeki Rafiki Update: No sign of Missing British Sailors

Planes and ships from the United States, Canada, and Britain have turned up no fresh signs of four British sailors missing in the Atlantic, the U.S. Coast Guard said on Wednesday, adding search efforts would continue. The crew members on board the yacht Cheeki Rafiki went missing on Friday as they were returning to Britain from a sailing event in Antigua in the Caribbean and reported that the vessel was taking on water, forcing them to change course for the Azores. "Unfortunately we have had no sightings of a life raft, persons in the water, a sailboat, or debris," U.S. Coast Guard Captain Anthony Popeil, who is leading the search, told reporters at a press conference in Boston. "No decisions have been made regarding suspension of this search.

20 May 2014

Cheeki Rafiki: Under Pressure, USCG Resumes Search

U.S. authorities resumed a hunt on Tuesday for four British yachtsmen missing in the Atlantic Ocean after a public appeal backed by UK politicians and British billionaire Richard Branson not to give up on finding them just yet. The sailors on board the yacht Cheeki Rafiki went missing on Friday as they were returning to Britain from a sailing event in Antigua in the Caribbean and reported that the vessel was taking on water, forcing them to change course to head to the Azores. The U.S. Coast Guard, supported by U.S. and Canadian air forces, mounted a search about 1,000 miles off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but called it off on Sunday due to treacherous conditions, saying there was little chance of finding them. But relatives of the missing men set up a petition to urge U.S.

20 May 2014

UK Pressures U.S. to Resume Search for Sailors

A petition calling on the U.S. Coast Guard to resume a search for four British sailors missing in the Atlantic Ocean for four days has passed 120,000 signatures with a UK government minister backing the appeal. Relatives of the missing men - captain Andrew Bridge, 21, Steve Warren, 52, Paul Goslin, 56 and James Male, 23 - have appealed to U.S. authorities to resume a search, saying it was too early to give up hope as the men, all experienced sailors, could have escaped from the boat on a life raft. The men went missing last Friday after setting off from Antigua in the Caribbean to bring the yacht Cheeki Rafiki back to England but reported their vessel was taking on water and changed course to head to the Azores. The U.S.

19 May 2014

UK Families ask U.S. to Resume Search for Sailors

The families of four British sailors missing since their yacht capsized in the Atlantic Ocean three days ago appealed to the U.S. Coast Guard on Monday to resume its search. Last contact with the missing yacht, Cheeki Rafiki, was on Friday after it ran into difficulties about 1,000 miles (1,600 kms) off Cape Cod, Massachusetts, while returning to Britain from a sailing event in Antigua in the Caribbean. A search was called off on Sunday after two days as the U.S. Coast Guard said it did not have the capability to support a large-scale search. The missing men were named as 21-year-old captain Andrew Bridge along with Steve Warren, 52, Paul Goslin, 56 and James Male, 23. All four were described as experienced sailors.

14 Feb 2014

Chemical Weapons Destruction Ship Arrives Spain

MV Cape Ray: Photo CCL

The 'MV Cape Ray' has arrived at Rota, Spain, for a port visit while en route to aid in removal of Syrian chemical materials, Pentagon spokesman Army Col. Steve Warren informs the American Forces Press Service. The vessel -- part of the Transportation Department Maritime Administration's Ready Reserve Force program -- left Portsmouth, Va., Jan. 27, 2014. Hundreds of government and contract personnel worked for several months to prepare the vessel to neutralize Syrian chemical materials and precursors using hydrolysis technology.

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