Middle East Shipping Threats

Fortunately it seems like the piracy problem has shifted away from the waters West of Africa to those East of the continent.

http://www.economist.com/news/middl...-somalia-are-calmer-piracy-west-africa-rising

Unfortunately Asia has seen an increase in piracy.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/riskmap/2015/02/10/maritime-risks-rise-even-as-somali-piracy-recedes/

Sadly the seas of the world no longer seem to be the place of idyllic dreams that they once were but instead have become an increasingly dangerous place making situational awareness the watch word of the day.

Iran Forces Open Fire On, Seize US Cargo Ship With 34 People On Board, Al Arabiya Reports

Moments ago according to the native Twitter feed of al-Arabiya (which is owned by the Saudis), Iranian forces have seized a US cargo ship, which has some 34 American sailors, which they have taken to the port of Bandar Abbas.

Al Arabiya adds that Iran fired on the US cargo ship before escoring it, a move which will surely lead to a rapid and violent escalation in the gulf:

Iran's Farsnews confirms the Arabiya report, stating that "a US cargo ship with 34 crew was stopped and seized by Iranian Navy warships on Tuesday. The Iranian Navy has confiscated the American trade vessel with all its 34 crew for trespassing on Iran's territorial waters in the Persian Gulf."

An Iranian warship is now taking the American vessel to Iran's Southern port city of Bandar Abbas in the Persian Gulf.

There has been no official confirmation of the seizure yet.
It is unclear why Iran would do this and if this is merely yet another Saudi provocation (expect a full denial by Iran), but the US kneejerk reaction may not only scuttle, so to say, any ongoing Iran nuclear negotiations, but led to a far more violent retaliation, which may explain the move in crude if not the move lower in stocks.

Just a few hours earlier Iran has demanded that Israel give up its “nuclear weapons”, as it spoke on behalf of the 120-nation Non-Aligned Movement. Iran’s Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif said the bloc also wants a nuclear free-zone in the Middle East.

According to RT, Mohammad Javad Zarif was speaking at the United Nations for the non-aligned group of countries. Israel has never admitted or denied the widespread assumption it has nuclear weapons. However, Zarif says Israel’s assumed nuclear arsenal was a threat to regional security.

The Iranian Foreign Minister said the non-aligned movement regards Israel’s nuclear program as, “a serious and continuing threat to the security of neighboring and other states, and condemned Israel for continuing to develop and stockpile nuclear arsenals,” according to Reuters.

Israel has not signed up to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), though it has sent an observer to the month long conference for the first time in 20 years.

Zarif added that the non-aligned bloc are looking to create a nuclear free-zone in the Middle East “as a matter of high priority,” which will only be possible, if Israel abandons its nuclear stockpile.

“Israel, [is] the only one in the region that has neither joined the NPT nor declared its intention to do so, (...) renounce possession of nuclear weapons,” AFP cited Zarif as saying.

* * *


It's about to get really ugly in that region, it looks like.

An UPDATE

Obama admin blows off any responsibility to help. The mullahs have obviously spoken.

http://weaselzippers.us/222086...d&utm_medium=twitter

Pentagon: No Obligation To Protect Ship Seized By Iran, Despite U.S. Treaty Obligation To Defend Marshall Islands

Iran seized a cargo ship flying the flag of the Marshall Islands and is taking it to Bander Abbas.

According to Bloomberg View:

When asked if his country would request that the U.S. rescue the cargo ship from Iran, Junior Aini, the charge d’affairs for the Marshall Islands Embassy in Washington, told us he was still awaiting guidance from his foreign ministry. But he also suggested that his country had no other recourse than to hope the U.S. responds.

“The United States has the full security responsibility over the islands and for the defense of the islands, this is what our treaty says,” he told us. Aini was referring to a 1986 accord between the U.S. and the island nation that set the terms for independence. The Marshall Islands has no standing army. News that Iran had boarded the Maersk Tigris surprised Aini. He said he initially learned about the incidentfrom watching Fox News.

Aini also said his nation is barred by the 1986 agreement from doing anything that would challenge America’s role in this regard. “We cannot take any action that will impact the U.S. responsibility,” he said. Under a 1983 Compact of Free Association, the U.S. has “full authority and responsibility for security and defense of the Marshall Islands,” according to a State Department fact sheet.

But the Pentagon seems to have completely blown off any U.S. responsibility, according to CBS’s Major Garrett:

Major Garrett ✔@MajorCBS:

"Pentagon lawyers have determined..US has no obligation to come to the defense of a Marshall Islands-flagged vessel at sea"
6:14 PM - 28 Apr 2015
https://twitter.com/MajorCBS/s...s/593176428495118336

Let's be careful taking our news from twitter. I was just on CNN and the gist of the current situation as I see it is:

-Some apparently mixed signals but that's strictly on the surface and premature.

-The US Farragut is on the way to the scene of the incident but what it will do once there hasn't been determined or disclosed.

-The US has an obligation to the Marshall Islands to respond to requests but at this point there has been no request made for action.

-Whether just hoping, posturing, or believing, the US is stating that they believe Iran will send the ship on it's way.

I think it's a very delicate balance to be maintained and we really don't have all the information and have to wait to see what happens. What we do know and what has meaning here on YF is a commercial ship taken under control by Iran. That certainly makes anyone with a yacht passing through the area feel a bit of concern.

Anytime there's conflict in an area of the world, it's got to concern yacht owners. Perhaps commercial ships are the first target but yacht owners are possible targets as well. Frankly, I'd be worried about taking a yacht into Baltimore Harbor today. I think yacht owners must stay aware of all areas of potential travel and review advice of our government and others, then decide whether it's a risk they're comfortable with.

I have no idea how this current Iranian situation with this ship will be resolved, so I, like others, will just have to continue to follow it.

Do not be alarmed to much. The ship was not captured by the regular Iranean Navy, it was brought up by the Iranean Revolutionary Guards. This paramilitary force is not really under full control of the Iranean government. Its leaders are mostly radical Mullahs and sometimes act without order.

I have talked to the CEO and owner of the ships operating parent company, which is an very old business collegue and friend of mine here in Hamburg for more than 40 years. He is not very alarmed at all.

Even if this action might have been planned as an provocation against the US by the IRG, but as soon as they found out that were are no US citizens on board and the US administration stated, it would not respond and the nationality of the crew, especially of the ships officers were as such, that any kind of further escalation was not intended and wanted by the Iranean government.

The official statement of Iran from this morning sounds like, the ship was taken under arrest, because the ships ownership was owing some money to a private Iranean company. What a week excuse! I call this a low pull out.

If the ship was in internatiional waters during the firing and boarding, this would have been an act of piracy. This is checked at the moment with the ships AIS track log. I am sure, this incident will soon be solved by diplomatic sources.

The international western politic has clearly stated in the past, that a closure of the street of Hormuz by Iran would not be tolerated. And I am pretty sure, that that the Iranean government has no interest in finding out, what that would mean for them.

Just my 2 (Euro) cents

International commercial shipping is pretty complicated nowadays.

Who is the owner, who is the operator, is the ship under charter with or without crew, what nationality does the crew and its officers have, what flag state and home port, who owns the cargo, who is the freight forwarder, what type of cargo, where is it comming from, where is it going to? Very difficult matter! With any of the above facts changing, the rules and laws may change completely.

The Marhall Islands are a special problem. The small (number of people, not square miles) and poor country has no armed forces and is protected by treaty through the US. But foreign ships, flying the Marshall Island flag are not automatically US ships and protected by the US forces.

Life could be so easy without politics.