Four merchant ships reported to have been 'sabotaged' off UAE

Four merchant ships reported to have been 'sabotaged' off UAE
Associated Press 12 May 2019 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/12/uae-four-merchant-ships-re...

Emirati officials do not say who was responsible for alleged attack as regional tensions rise between US and Iran

The United Arab Emirates has said that four commercial ships off its eastern coast “were subjected to sabotage operations”, just hours after Iranian and Lebanese media outlets aired false reports of explosions at a nearby Emirati port.

Emirati officials on Sunday declined to elaborate on the nature of the sabotage or say who might have been responsible. However, the reported incident came after the US warned ships that “Iran or its proxies” could be targeting maritime traffic in the region, and as America deploys an aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged threats from Tehran, though no official has given details of them.

Tensions have risen in the year since Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, restoring American sanctions that have pushed Iran’s economy into crisis. Last week, Iran warned it would begin enriching uranium at higher levels in 60 days if world powers failed to negotiate new terms for the deal.

The statement from the UAE’s foreign ministry put the commercial ships near the country’s territorial waters in the Gulf of Oman, east of the port of Fujairah. It said it was investigating the incident “in cooperation with local and international bodies”. It said there were “no injuries or fatalities on board the vessels” and “no spillage of harmful chemicals or fuel”.

The US Navy’s 5th Fleet, which oversees the region, did not immediately offer comment on the incident. Emirati officials declined to elaborate while their investigation is ongoing.

Earlier on Sunday, Lebanon’s pro-Iran satellite channel Al-Mayadeen, quoting “Gulf sources” falsely reported that a series of explosions had struck Fujairah’s port. State and semi-official media in Iran picked up the report from Al-Mayadeen, which later published the names of vessels it claimed were involved in the incident.

Associated Press, after speaking to Emirati officials and local witnesses, found the report about explosions at the port to be unsubstantiated.

Fujairah’s port is located about 85 miles from the Strait of Hormuz, through which a third of all oil at sea is traded. The facility handles oil for shipping, as well as general and bulk cargo. It is seen as strategically located, serving shipping routes in the Persian Gulf, the Indian subcontinent and Africa.

The reported sabotage incident came after the US Maritime Administration warned on Thursday that Iran could target commercial sea traffic.

“Since early May, there is an increased possibility that Iran and/or its regional proxies could take action against US and partner interests, including oil production infrastructure, after recently threatening to close the Strait of Hormuz,” the warning read. “Iran or its proxies could respond by targeting commercial vessels, including oil tankers, or US military vessels in the Red Sea, Bab-el-Mandeb Strait, or the Persian Gulf.”

It’s unclear if that is the same perceived threat that prompted the White House to order the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and B-52 bombers to the region on 4 May.