Is The U.S. Navy Protecting British Ships From Iran?
U.S. Navy more and more i the business of protecting commercial shipping from Iran
In response to a request from London, the U.S. Navy has agreed to begin accompanying British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of Iran’s detention of the Maersk Tigris cargo ship last week, a Defense Department spokesman said Monday.
In response to a request from London, the U.S. Navy has agreed to begin accompanying British-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz in the wake of Iran’s detention of the Maersk Tigris cargo ship last week, a Defense Department spokesman said Monday.
The Maersk Tigris and its crew continue to be held by Iranian authorities over what Tehran says is a decade-old cargo dispute. But an international law scholar argued in Sunday’s Washington Post that there is “simply no basis” under the laws that govern maritime traffic “for arresting a ship for any debts incurred during prior voyages, and certainly not for those incurred by other ships.”
A U.S. Navy destroyer and three patrol boats have already shadowed several U.S.-flagged ships through the Strait since last Thursday, Army Col. Steve Warren said Monday. And over the weekend, a Navy vessel also accompanied one British ship through the strait, which is one of the most critical chokepoints in the global oil trade.
Photo Credit: U.S. Navy
Paul McLeary was a staff writer at Foreign Policy from 2015-2018.
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