WASHINGTON/COPENHAGEN, April 30 (Reuters) - U.S. Navy ships started
accompanying U.S.-flagged commercial vessels passing through the Strait
of Hormuz on Thursday, seeking to ensure freedom of navigation two days
after Iran seized a cargo ship, U.S. defense officials said.
The
officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, described the
decision as incremental, saying it was a precautionary move expected to
be for a limited time involving Navy ships already deployed to the area.
They
also stressed that the Navy would not be "escorting" ships, which would
involve moving in much closer proximity. One noted the Navy ships would
be in communication with the U.S.-flagged vessels and somewhat nearby
but not necessarily closely trailing them.
Still, the decision is
the latest sign of the heightened tension in the region after Iran
detained the Marshall Islands-flagged Maersk Tigris container ship on
Tuesday and after Iranian ships followed the U.S.-flagged Maersk
Kensington on April 24.

© REUTERS/Aaron Chase/U.S. Navy/Handout
The guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut is shown in this undated
photo operating in heavy seas in the Atlantic Ocean. Iranian forces
boarded a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf on…
The Pentagon has said those incidents showed "a pattern of harassment."
Danish
shipping giant Maersk insisted on Thursday on the release of the Maersk
Tigris and its crew seized by Iran, but an Iranian Embassy statement
said the vessel would only be let go once a years-old debt case was
settled.
The Maersk Tigris was anchored close to the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas, according to Reuters ship tracking data.
There were 24 crew members on the vessel, mostly from Eastern Europe and Asia, and also a British national.
Maersk
had chartered the ship, which according to ship operator Rickmer
Shipmanagement is owned by undisclosed private investors. The company
met with Iran's Ports and Maritime Organization on Wednesday and said
the company "must presume" the seizure was related to the dispute.
"We
have, however, not received any written or formal confirmation that the
seizure and the cargo case are connected," the company said in a
statement.
NUCLEAR TALKS
The incident
occurred at a critical juncture in U.S.-Iranian relations, which could
thaw should a tentative nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers
including Washington be clinched. It also coincides with heightened
tension between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia over the civil war
in Yemen, in which they support opposing sides.
Maersk, the
world's biggest container shipping line, said it had agreed to pay an
Iranian company $163,000 after an Iranian court ruling in February which
related to a dispute about 10 container boxes transported to Dubai in
2005.
"The Iranian company appealed the case seeking a higher compensation," Maersk said.
"Only
today, 30 April, have we learnt that the appeal court has ruled Maersk
Line to pay $3.6 million. As we do not have the details of the ruling,
we are not able to comment hereon, nor at this point speculate on our
options."
A statement from the Iranian Embassy in Copenhagen said
the Maersk Tigris was owned by Maersk and that it had been apprehended
in Iranian waters. It said the Danish Embassy in Tehran had been
informed of the case as it progressed.
"Naturally the ship will be
released after settlements of debts by Maersk Shipping Line and will be
allowed to sail to its final destination," the statement, dated April
29 but posted on Thursday, said.
"Iranian authorities reiterate
that there has been absolutely no political or security intentions or
considerations behind the incident," the statement said. (Additional
reporting by Jonathan Saul; Editing by Janet Lawrence and Cynthia
Osterman)
Post a Comment Blogger Facebook