The protection mission had been ordered last week after a Marshall Islands-flagged ship was seized by Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces and a US-flagged vessel was harassed.
The mission came to an end on Tuesday but US warships will remain in the area to conduct "routine maritime security operations," spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.
The US naval commander in the region "adjusts his mission based on his view of the conditions" and there had been "several days without incident," Warren said.
The order to accompany US-flagged vessels expired on Tuesday and commanders chose not to renew it, he said.
American warships began shadowing US-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, even as US and Iranian diplomats engaged in pivotal negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program.
While US officials would not use the term "escort", naval ships, including the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut, were meant to keep an eye on US-flagged commercial vessels, following close enough to take action to secure their safe passage.
But US officials insisted the operation did not constitute a full-fledged escort as the warships were not directly next to the commercial vessels and on the same course.
The Pentagon had said the protection mission could be extended to other countries' vessels, including British-flagged commercial ships.
Iranian authorities said the Marshall Islands-flagged Maersk Tigris was confiscated because of a commercial dispute.
The Strait of Hormuz is often described as the world's most important oil export route. About 30 percent of all oil traded by sea moves through the narrow channel, or about 17 million barrels a day.
At its narrowest, the strait is 21 miles (33 kilometers) wide, but the width of the navigable shipping lane in each direction is only two miles -- separated by a two-mile buffer zone.
Strategists have long feared a miscalculation in the crowded channel could trigger a conflict.
In 2011, Iran threatened that it might close the strait in retaliation for tougher international sanctions. That prompted a warning from Washington that US forces would take action to keep shipping lanes open.
AFP
ahram.org.eg
6/5/15
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Iran releases seized Maersk cargo ship: official media...
ReplyDeleteThe Iranian Foreign Ministry has confirmed the release of a Marshall Islands-flagged container ship and its crew on Thursday after they were seized last month by Iranian forces, the Students News Agency ISNA reported.
The vessel was seized on April 28 by Iranian patrol boats in the Strait of Hormuz, prompting the United States to send vessels to monitor the situation and to accompany U.S.-flagged vessels passing through the strait.
"The Maersk container ship was released and has left Iranian territorial waters," Foreign Ministry spokesman Marzieh Afkham told ISNA.
Iran has said it seized the container ship because of a commercial dispute with Denmark's Maersk group, which chartered the Marshall Islands-flagged vessel.
The move caused concern for the security of shipping lanes in the strategic strait and prompted the United States to send vessels to monitor the situation.
In a sign of reduced tensions, the Pentagon said Wednesday that the U.S. Navy had halted a mission to accompany American-flagged vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
U.S. warships will however remain in the area to conduct "routine maritime security operations," spokesman Colonel Steven Warren told reporters.....AFP.....dailystar.com.lb
7/5/15
Le cargo Maersk saisi par l'Iran autorisé à partir...
ReplyDeleteLe navire du géant danois du transport maritime Maersk, battant pavillon des îles Marshall, qui avait été intercepté le 28 avril par l'Iran, est libre de quitter le pays, a indiqué jeudi l'Organisation iranienne des ports.
Le navire, un porte-conteneurs battant pavillon des îles Marshall, avait été intercepté le 28 avril dans les eaux du Golfe par des bateaux de guerre en application d'une décision de justice favorable à une société privée iranienne.
Dans un communiqué publié sur son site, l'Organisation des ports a affirmé que des "consultations ont été menées avec la compagnie Maersk" qui a donné son "engagement (...) pour appliquer la décision judiciaire".
"Après avoir obtenu une autorisation judiciaire, le navire a été libéré le 7 mai", ajoute le communiqué............rtl.be
7/5/15