Iran seizes Marshall Islands-flagged ship
Iran seized a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo ship on Tuesday after claiming it ventured into Iranian waters in the Strait of Hormuz, defense officials said, an incident that could complicate talks about Tehran's nuclear program.
There were no Americans among the crew of the Maersk Tigris, though the United States has security responsibilities with regard to the Marshall Islands.
The Navy is "communicating with representatives of the shipping company and we continue to monitor the situation," said Col. Steve Warren, a Pentagon spokesman.
Warren, who said a Navy destroyer has been dispatched to the area, added: "According to information received from the vessel's operators, there are no Americans aboard."
There are believed to be about 30 sailors aboard the Maersk Tigris, and its cargo is unknown.
Wednesday, Cor Radings, a spokesman for Rickmers Ship Management's Singapore operations, the ship's operator, told the Associated Press that the company had been in touch by phone with the crew and "they are in a relatively good condition and safe on board the ship."
He said most of the crew are from Eastern Europe and Asia, and said there hasn't been any contact with the Iranian authorities since the ship was seized.
The State Department says the Marshall Islands is a sovereign nation, but "the United States has full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands, and the Government of the Marshall Islands is obligated to refrain from taking actions that would be incompatible with these security and defense responsibilities."
Warren said that Iranian patrol vessels fired "inappropriate" warning shots at the ship as it sailed into the Strait of Hormuz in Iranian territorial waters.
The ship's master initially refused an Iranian order to move further into Iranian waters, but after the warning shots were fired, the Maersk Tigris complied.
The ship issued a distress call after the shots were fired, Warren said, and the Navy then dispatched the USS Farragut, a destroyer, to monitor the situation. Navy patrol aircraft are monitoring the ships as well, he said.
The incident occurred about 4 a.m, ET, in the deepest part of a long-used shipping channel.
Although the Maersk Tigris was in Iranian waters, Warren said ships regularly transit the narrow strait without incident under the recognized authority of "innocent passage."
The Maersk Tigris is a 837-foot container ship that was headed to the port city of Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates on Tuesday, according to ship tracking site Vesselfinder.com. Its last port of call was in Jedda, Saudi Arabia, where it traveled to from Turkey.
The seizure at sea occurs as the United States leads a naval blockade of Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen. The blockade, sanctioned by the U.N. Security Council, is aimed at preventing Iranian ships, weapons and personnel from reaching the Houthis and their allies, who've seized the capital Sanaa and ousted the Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. A convoy of Iranian ships suspected of carrying arms for the Houthis that was headed toward Yemen last week turned around and returned towards Iran after being shadowed by U.S. warships accompanying the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt.
The Maersk Group, which owns the U.S. subsidiary Maersk Line Limited, is based in Denmark. Maersk Line provides U.S.-flagged shipping services to U.S. government and commercial customers, according to the company's website.
It's hard to say how — or if — the incident will affect ongoing talks over Iran's nuclear program.
The United States, its allies, and Iran are negotiating the final details of an agreement in which sanctions would be reduced on Iran if it gives up the means to make nuclear weapons.
Some lawmakers, including many Republicans and some Democrats, are criticizing the prospect of an Iran agreement, citing in part the Tehran regime's international behavior.
Contributing: Oren Dorell