US Navy escorts US-flagged ships through Hormuz

OREANDA-NEWS. The US Navy is escorting US-flagged vessels through the strait of Hormuz after Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy patrols intercepted a cargo vessel there on 28 April.

The US Naval Forces Central Command is coordinating with shipping companies to ensure escorts through the region are conducted smoothly, a Defense Department official said. The central command is confident it has the resources to provide the escorts.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps navy patrol vessels intercepted the Marshall Islands-flagged M/V Maersk Tigris while it was transiting the strait. The patrols fired across the Maersk Tigris' bridge when the cargo vessel's master initially refused to follow orders and move further into Iranian territory.

The US Navy destroyer the USS Farragut then sent aircraft to the location and contacted the shipping company. No US citizens were aboard the Maersk Tigris.

The Iranian foreign ministry said yesterday the Maersk Tigris was seized in response to a court decree issued on 28 April in response to a complaint lodged against Maersk by a private company, Pars-Talaeeyeh Oil Products, Iran's state-run news agency Irna reported. The court had ordered Maersk to pay damages.

Iran said the seizure conformed with international law, Iran reported.

The strait of Hormuz is a major choke point for waterborne crude. About 17mn b/d of crude transited the strait in 2013, or 30pc of all seaborne-traded oil, according to the US Energy Information Administration.