UK to join US-led taskforce in Gulf to protect merchant ships

The Royal Navy will join a US-led taskforce to protect merchant ships travelling in the Gulf.

The move comes amid growing tensions between the two western powers and Iran over the shipping route in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian forces seized British-flagged vessel Stena Impero last month, while the US has tightened sanctions on Iran.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the new maritime taskforce would give “reassurance for shipping”.

But it goes against plans laid out by his predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, for a European-led mission in the area.

The UK government confirmed last month that it would provide a Royal Navy escort, from warships HMS Duncan and HMS Montrose, for British-flagged ships passing through the strait.

The Ministry of Defence said the new mission would involve the same warships.

The US has also committed two warships to the mission, as well as aerial surveillance.

Washington has re-imposed – and latterly tightened – its own sanctions on Iran, after withdrawing from a 2015 deal to limit the country’s nuclear activities.

The UK and other European countries remain committed to the plan, but diplomatic tensions have been strained in recent months – increasing after the seizure of the Stena Impero.

Mr Raab said the UK’s decision to join the US-led mission did not change its commitment to the nuclear deal and that the government was working to “de-escalate the situation” in the Gulf.

Announcing the new mission, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK was “determined to ensure shipping is protected from unlawful threats”.

He added: “Upholding international maritime law and freedom of passage is in all our interests.

“We are seeing, across our seas and oceans, too many incidents that seek to challenge such freedoms.”

Source: bbc.co.uk

Protecting the Strait of Hormuz essential

UAE wholly endorses international efforts to safeguard vital maritime passage

A significant proportion of the global economy depends on the free flow of maritime traffic. The ships that navigate the waters of Arabian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz carry one-third of the world’s petrochemical and energy needs — an essential artery that keeps oil pumping around the planet, powering industry, energy and global trade. The free movement of those ships is vital.

Simply put, the maritime trade in our regional waters cannot be interrupted. Those vessels are the lifeblood of commerce, trade and energy, and anyone who interferes in their safe passage or impedes their activities is a saboteur of the interests of all who depend on their cargoes. Yet sabotage and piracy now have reared their head, all thanks to the activities of the regime in Iran.

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Source: gulfnews.com

Cluster Bomb Toting F-15Es Are Patrolling The Persian Gulf To Counter Small Boat Swarms

The weapons would be a useful tool for destroying Iran’s fast boat armada that it has used to seize and harass tankers.

BY JOSEPH TREVITHICK

U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles have been flying patrols over the Persian Gulf armed with cluster munitions, as well as a variety of other weapons. These weapons could be useful for beating back swarms of small boats, such as those belonging to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC. The sorties come amid escalating tensions between the United States and Iran, as well as the IRGC’s harassment and seizure of a number of tankers in Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.

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Source: thedrive.com

Germany ‘Reluctant’ On U.S. Plan For Naval Patrols Off Iran

Germany is “reluctant” to join a proposed U.S.-led naval mission in the Strait of Hormuz but would consider participating in a European mission, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government said July 31.

The government was responding to Washington’s proposal a day earlier “to help secure” the world’s busiest oil shipping lane and “combat Iranian aggression,” which came at a time of heightened tensions between the United States and Tehran.

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Source: en.radiofarda.com

BP avoids sending tankers and crews into Gulf waters

Oil giant’s CEO takes decision amid fears its tankers could be targeted by Iranian forces as tensions mount

British oil giant BP is avoiding sending ships to the region after it had to shelter one of its tankers in the Gulf this month in fear it could be targeted by Iranian forces.

BP is “certainly not sending British ships and crews” through the Strait of Hormuz, the only way for tankers to reach the world’s biggest oil-exporting region, CEO Robert Dudley said in an interview on Bloomberg TV.

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Source: logisticsmiddleeast.com

Russia Submits Persian Gulf Security Plan to UN

Russia’s concept of collective security in the Persian Gulf has been distributed as an official document approved by the United Nations.

“In the current conditions, energetic and effective action is needed at an international and regional level in the interests of improving and further stabilizing the situation in the Persian Gulf, overcoming the prolonged crisis stage and turning this sub-region to peace, good neighborly relations and sustainable development,” the document said, TASS reported.

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Source: english.almanar.com.lb

Iran asks China for support as Royal Navy warship arrives in the Gulf

Senior Chinese politician told UK and USA are ‘fanning flames of war’ during visit to Tehran

By Max Channon

Iran has reportedly asked China for its support in the Gulf, as Royal Navy Type 45 Destroyer HMS Duncan arrived in the region.

The state – which seized a British-flagged tanker in retaliation for a UK operation involving Royal Marines from Plymouth which saw an Iranian tanker seized near Gibraltar earlier this month – has also condemned UK calls for a European-led naval mission to escort tankers in the Gulf.

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Source: plymouthherald.co.uk

Iran says European fleet would be ‘provocative’

By AMIR HAVASI

Britain planning joint force to escort tankers through Strait of Hormuz after seizure of UK-flagged vessel

Iran on Sunday slammed as “provocative” a British proposal for a European-led naval mission to escort tankers in the Gulf, amid soaring tensions over the seizure of ships.

“We heard that they intend to send a European fleet to the Persian Gulf, which naturally carries a hostile message, is provocative and will increase tensions,” said government spokesman Ali Rabiei.

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Source: asiatimes.com

Iran’s Oil Tanker Gambit Has Nowhere to Go

To judge by the propaganda of the Iranian regime, the brave warriors of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had captured a Royal Navy guided-missile destroyer. Video footage shows the IRGC men rappelling down to a ship while other fearless comrades, looking on from speedboats racing alongside the vessel, cheer them on with shouts of “Allah Akbar!” Still images show the men advancing cautiously down the deck, automatic weapons pointed forward in preparation of a fierce gun battle.

Stirring stuff for an Iranian audience raised on stories of Albion’s many historical perfidies against their nation! Except the captured ship was not the mighty HMS Duncan, bristling with missiles and men-at-arms, but the Stena Impero, a small oil tanker with a motley complement of 23 civilians—and not a single man jack among them holding a British passport.

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Source: hellenicshippingnews.com

Maritime Union Report on the Dangers Seafarers Face on Ships in the Persian Gulf

First Hand Report on Transiting the Strait of Hormuz in a Merchant Vessel

PERSIAN GULF – As with the case of piracy in the waters off the Somali Coast, nothing brings the realities of dangers at sea whilst transiting the seas in the region like the first-hand accounts of those who have experienced the terrors of passing through the Strait of Hormuz whilst anticipating an attack from armed forces.

With security levels raised by the British government following the seizure of the UK-flagged tanker Stena Impero the focus of the maritime unions has been on the welfare of their members and now Nautilus International, the trade union for maritime professionals, has released the testimony of one of its members, via a report by Helen Kelly, illustrating the circumstances faced by seafarers in the region.

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Source: handyshippingguide.com