Idrees Ali News

The U.S. military's cost estimate to build a pier off Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid has risen to $320 million, a U.S. defense official and a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.The figure, which has not been previously reported, illustrates the massive scale of a construction effort that the Pentagon has said involves about 1,000 U.S. service members, mostly from the Army and Navy.Still, the cost has roughly doubled from initial estimates earlier this year, according to a person familiar with the matter."The cost has not just risen.

U.S. troops have begun construction of a maritime pier off the coast of Gaza that aims to speed the flow of humanitarian aid into the enclave when it becomes operational in May, the Pentagon said on Thursday.President Joe Biden announced the pier in March as aid officials implored Israel to ease access for relief supplies into Gaza over land routes. Whether the pier will ultimately succeed in boosting humanitarian aid is unclear, as international officials warn of the risk of…

The Indian Navy said on Thursday it had rescued the crew of a U.S.-owned vessel in the Gulf of Aden after an attack by Yemen's Houthi movement as tensions in the region's sea lanes disrupted global trade.Following the attack on the U.S. Genco Picardy late on Wednesday, the U.S. military said its forces had conducted strikes on 14 Houthi missiles that "presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and U.S. Navy ships in the region".Attacks by the Iran-allied Houthi militia on…

Iran seized a tanker with Iraqi crude destined for Turkey on Thursday in retaliation for the confiscation last year of the same vessel and its oil by the U.S., Iranian state media reported, a move likely to stoke regional tensions.The seizure of the Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas coincides with weeks of attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi militias targeting Red Sea shipping routes."After the theft of Iranian oil by the United States last year, St Nikolas tanker was seized by Iran's Navy this morning with a judicial order ...

Danish shipping company Maersk on Friday denied a claim by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement that the militia carried out a drone strike on a Maersk vessel sailing towards Israel.The Houthis earlier claimed it carried out a military operation against a Maersk container vessel, directly hitting it with a drone. The Houthis, who made the claim in a statement, did not release any evidence.Maersk on Thursday said ship Maersk Gibraltar was targeted by a missile while travelling from Salalah…

An attempted hijacking of a commercial vessel in the Gulf of Aden on Sunday appears to have been carried out by armed Somali pirates and not Yemeni Houthis, despite the firing of missiles from Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen afterwards, the Pentagon said on Monday."We're continuing to assess, but initial indications are that these five individuals are Somali," said Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder."Clearly a piracy related incident," Ryder added.A U.S. Navy warship responded to a distress call on Sunday from the chemical tanker Central Park.

A U.S. Navy warship responded to a distress call from a commercial tanker in the Gulf of Aden that had been seized by armed individuals and is now safe, U.S. officials said on Sunday.The tanker, which had been carrying a cargo of phosphoric acid, was identified as the Central Park by the vessel's company. The officials did not identify the attackers.In a statement, the U.S. military said the USS Mason, with help from allied ships, demanded that the commercial ship be released by the attackers. Five armed individuals tried to escape on a fast boat but were chased by the U.S.

A U.S. Navy warship shot down a drone in the Red Sea that emanated from Yemen, two U.S. officials told Reuters on Wednesday, in what appeared to be only the second time the United States has brought down projectiles near its warships since the Israel-Hamas conflict began.Washington is on heightened alert for activity by Iran-backed groups as regional tensions soar during the conflict and has been trying to ensure that it does not spread in the region.The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity…

Taiwanese container shipping line Evergreen has declared force majeure on a shipment to the Israeli port of Ashdod, with its Ever Cozy vessel diverted to Haifa further north due to safety concerns, according to a customer note.This is one of the first force majeures declared since Hamas Islamists launched attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, amid preparations by Israel's military to launch ground operations into Gaza in retaliation.The Ever Cozy was sailing towards Haifa port on Tuesday, according to data from ship tracking and maritime analytics provider MarineTraffic.Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas Islamists after its fighters stormed through Israeli towns from Gaza…

The United States could soon offer to put armed sailors and Marines on commercial ships traveling through the Gulf's Strait of Hormuz, two U.S. officials said on Thursday, amid alleged attempts by Iran to hijack ships in international waters.The Pentagon last month sent additional F-35 and F-16 fighter jets along with a warship to the Middle East in a bid to monitor key waterways in the region following Iran's seizure and harassment of commercial shipping vessels.After taking a commercial tanker last month, Tehran said it had an order from an Iranian court to seize a tanker in Gulf waters.

It is not clear why Iran has been attempting to seize commercial ships in the Gulf in recent days, a senior Pentagon official said on Friday."Why the Iranians are doing (it) at this moment is not at all clear to us," Colin Kahl, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, told reporters.He said it should be assumed that this would not be the last time Iran tried to make such moves against commercial vessels.(Reuters - Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali)

Canadian safety officials on Friday opened an investigation into the undersea implosion of a tourist submersible that killed all five people aboard while diving to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, raising questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions.A debris field from the submersible Titan was found at the bottom of the North Atlantic on Thursday by a robotic diving vehicle deployed from a Canadian search vessel, ending an intense five-day international rescue effort.Fragments of Titan…

When China sailed one of its two active aircraft carriers, the Shandong, east of Taiwan last month as part of military drills surrounding the island, it was showcasing a capability that it has yet to master and could take years to perfect.As Beijing modernizes its military, its formidable missile forces and other naval vessels, such as cutting-edge cruisers, are posing a concern for the U.S. and its allies. But it could be more than a decade before China can mount a credible carrier threat far from its shores…

The United States has sent a Navy ship to Sudan to help evacuate American citizens who have been stranded in the country since fighting broke out earlier this month, two U.S. officials told Reuters.The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the USNS Brunswick, a fast-transport vessel, was in Port Sudan temporarily. One of the officials said hundreds of citizens are likely to be evacuated on the vessel.(Reuters - Reporting by Idrees Ali, Editing by Nick Zieminski)

U.S. President Joe Biden will meet leaders of Australia and Britain in San Diego on Monday to announce a way forward for Australia to receive nuclear-powered submarines in Canberra's biggest-ever defense project.The three countries announced the so-called AUKUS plan in 2021 as part of efforts to counter China in the Indo-Pacific region.However, questions remain over strict U.S. curbs on the extensive technology sharing needed for the project and about the length of time it will take to deliver the submarines.Australia is expected to buy up to five U.S.

A U.S. warship sailed through the sensitive Taiwan Strait on Thursday, part of what the U.S. military calls routine activity but which has riled China.In recent years, U.S. warships, and on occasion those from allied nations such as Britain and Canada, have sailed through the strait, drawing the ire of China, which claims Taiwan against the objections of its democratically elected government.In a statement, the U.S. military said the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer…

The U.S. military said on Tuesday that an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy boat came within 150 yards of American warships in the Strait of Hormuz, but the situation was de-escalated with the help of audible warnings and non-lethal use of lasers.In a statement, the U.S. military said the incident took place on Dec.

A U.S. Navy warship and a Canadian frigate made a routine transit through the Taiwan Strait on Tuesday, the militaries of both nations said, at a time of heightened military tension between Beijing and Taipei.The transit was the second in a month by a U.S. Navy ship, and the second jointly by the United States and Canada in less than a year, since October 2021.While China condemned the mission, saying its forces "warned" the ships, recent years have seen U.S. warships, and occasionally those of allied nations such as Britain and Canada…

Two U.S. Navy warships sailed through international waters in the Taiwan Strait on Sunday, the first such operation since a visit to Taiwan by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi enraged China which regards the island as its territory.The U.S. Navy, confirming a Reuters report, said cruisers Chancellorsville and Antietam were carrying out the ongoing operation. Such operations usually take eight to 12 hours to complete and are closely monitored by China's military.In recent years, U.S.

The USS Abraham Lincoln strike group is operating in waters off the Korean peninsula, the U.S. Navy said on Tuesday, amid tensions over North Korea's missile launches and concerns that it could soon resume testing nuclear weapons."The Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is conducting bilateral operations with the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Sea of Japan," Commander Hayley Sims, a spokesperson for the Japan-based U.S. Seventh Fleet, said in a statement.This is the first time since 2017 that a carrier group has deployed to the waters between South Korea and Japan, and comes as U.S.

The United States on Saturday denied that it had carried out military operations in Russian territorial waters, after Moscow said a Russian naval vessel chased away a U.S. submarine in Russian waters in the Pacific.Russia accused Washington of breaking international law and creating a national security threat over the incident at a time of high tensions between Moscow and Washington over a Russian military buildup near Ukraine.Interfax news agency cited the Russian Defense Ministry as saying a Russian naval vessel chased away a U.S.

The leadership of an American nuclear-powered submarine that hit a seamount in the South China Sea last month will be relieved of command, U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday.The U.S. Navy fast-attack submarine Connecticut hit the submerged object last month but there were no serious injuries and the vessel is currently in Guam. Fifteen people suffered minor injuries such as bruises and lacerations.The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the leadership…

A U.S. Navy investigation released on Wednesday found that a fire aboard a warship last year, which was caused by arson, was preventable and that a series of failures after it started led to the destruction of the ship.More than 60 people, including about 40 sailors, were treated for minor injuries during several days of fighting flames on the 844-foot-long (257-meter) amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard, which was docked for maintenance at its home port at U.S. Naval Base San Diego.A U.S.