Phil Stewart News

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…

U.S. President Joe Biden's plan to build a floating U.S. military port to speed up aid to Gaza could take up to 60 days to become a reality and involve more than 1,000 American troops, the Pentagon said on Friday.The Pentagon offered the timeline a day after Biden announced the initiative in his State of the Union speech, as he seeks to cool anger in his Democratic Party over his staunch support for Israel's offensive in Gaza since Oct. 7.The United Nations has warned that widespread famine in the Gaza Strip is "almost inevitable" without urgent action.

Maersk said explosions nearby forced two ships operated by its U.S. subsidiary and carrying U.S. military supplies to turn around when they were transiting the Bab al-Mandab Strait off Yemen, accompanied by the U.S. Navy."While en route, both ships reported seeing explosions close by and the U.S. Navy accompaniment also intercepted multiple projectiles," Maersk said in a statement, adding it was suspending Red Sea transits by vessels of the U.S. subsidiary.A spokesperson for Yemen's Houthi military forces said they fired ballistic missiles at several U.S. warships that were protecting two U.S.

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 ...

A Houthi drone boat ladened with explosives detonated in the Red Sea on Thursday but failed to cause any damage or casualties, the U.S. Navy said, as the Yemen-based group continued its attacks in defiance of international calls to stop.The latest attack came one day after 12 countries including the United States, Britain and Japan issued a joint statement cautioning the Houthis of unspecified "consequences" unless it halts its attacks, in what one U.S. official on Wednesday suggested was a final warning.The Iran-aligned Houthis…

U.S. President Joe Biden hoped to present a firm international response to Yemen's Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping by launching a new maritime force, but a week after its launch many allies don't want to be associated with it, publicly, or at all.Two of America's European allies who were listed as contributors to Operation Prosperity Guardian - Italy and Spain - issued statements appearing to distance themselves from the maritime force.The Pentagon says the force is a defensive…

Denmark's Maersk is preparing to resume shipping operations in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, the company said on Sunday, citing the deployment of a U.S.-led military operation designed to ensure the safety of commerce in the area.The shipping giant paused sending vessels through the Bab el-Mandeb strait earlier in December due to attacks against its ships. That rendered the Suez Canal, which is key to global commerce, unusable for most routes.The United States said on Tuesday it was launching a multinational operation to protect commerce in the Red Sea from Iran-backed Yemeni militants…

A total of more than 20 countries have agreed to participate in the new U.S.-led coalition safeguarding commercial traffic in the Red Sea from attacks by Yemen's Houthi movement as more nations join the effort, the Pentagon said on Thursday.Still, the new Pentagon total would suggest that at least eight of the countries who have signed up have also declined to be publicly named, in a sign of political sensitivities of the operation as regional tensions soar over the Israel-Hamas war."We've had over 20 nations now sign on to participate…

The United States on Tuesday launched a multinational operation to safeguard commerce in the Red Sea as attacks by Iran-backed Yemeni militants forced major shipping companies to reroute, stoking fears of sustained disruptions to global trade.The Houthi militant group, which controls vast amounts of territory in Yemen after years of war, has since last month fired drones and missiles at international vessels sailing through the Red Sea - attacks it says respond to Israel's devastating assault on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.This week…

A tanker in the Red Sea off Yemen's coast was fired on by gunmen in a speedboat and targeted with missiles, maritime sources said on Wednesday, the latest incident to threaten the shipping lane after Yemeni Houthi forces warned ships not to travel to Israel.A second commercial vessel was also approached by the speedboat in the same area though not attacked, British maritime security firm Ambrey and other sources said.Separately, a U.S. defence official in Washington said the U.S.

Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday they hit a Norwegian commercial tanker with a missile in their latest protest against Israel's bombardment of Gaza, underlining the risks of a conflict that has shaken the Middle East.The Iran-aligned group attacked the tanker, the Strinda, because it was delivering crude oil to an Israeli terminal and after its crew ignored all warnings, Houthi military spokesperson Yehia Sarea said in a statement.But the tanker's owner, Norway's Mowinckel Chemical Tankers, said the vessel was headed to Italy with a cargo of biofuel feedstock, not crude oil.

A land-based cruise missile launched from Houthi-controlled Yemen has struck a commercial tanker vessel, causing a fire and damage but no casualties, two U.S. defense officials told Reuters on Monday.The attack on the tanker Strinda took place about 60 nautical miles (111km) north of the Bab al-Mandab Strait about 2100 GMT, one of the officials said. The U.S. Navy destroyer USS Mason was there and rendered aid, the officials said.The Iran-aligned Houthis have waded into the conflict…

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…

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.

President Joe Biden on Friday nominated Admiral Lisa Franchetti to lead the Navy, an historic step that would break a gender barrier in the U.S. military by making her the first woman to command the service and to become a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.The decision by Biden is a surprise. Pentagon officials had widely expected the nomination to go to Admiral Samuel Paparo, who leads the Navy in the Pacific and who has experience grappling with the growing challenge from China.Still…

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)

On Feb. 10 last year, the cable ship CS Dependable appeared off the coast of the island of Diego Garcia, an Indian Ocean atoll that’s home to a discreet U.S. naval base.Over the next month, the ship’s crew covertly laid an underwater fiber-optic cable to the military base, an operation code-named “Big Wave,” according to four people with direct knowledge of the mission, as well as a Reuters analysis of satellite imagery and ship tracking data.The new super-fast internet link to Diego Garcia, which has not previously been reported, will boost U.S. military readiness in the Indian Ocean, a region where China has expanded its naval influence over the last decade.The CS Dependable is owned by SubCom…

Iran has increased its attacks on commercial shipping in recent months and the Pentagon will begin to bolster defensive posture in the region on Friday, White House spokesperson John Kirby said.In the past two years, Iran has harassed, attacked or interfered with the navigational rights of 15 internationally flagged commercial vessels, Kirby said."Today, the Department of Defense will be making a series of moves to bolster our defensive posture in the Arabian Gulf," Kirby told reporters in a briefing.Kirby said U.S Central Command will provide details in coming days. The U.S.

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…

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.