Oil products tanker flees to UAE after being shot at by Iranian navy in Strait of Hormuz

Singapore Star Sunday 17th May, 2015

oil products tanker flees to uae after being shot at by iranian navy in strait of hormuz

• Iran fires warning shots at Singaporean oil products tanker

• UAE Coast Guard forced to intercept the ship

• Comes just days after release of Maersk Tigris

DUBAI, UAE - Iranian naval vessels fired warning shots over a Singapore-flagged oil products tanker in international waters in the Strait of Hormuz on Thursday, according to new reports, prompting the ship to send out a mayday and flee into UAE waters.

According to US officials, the 29,130 gross tonne oil products tanker Alpine Eternity safely reached the UAE port of Jebel Ali after the UAE Coast Guard responded to its distress call and moved to intercept the Iranian vessels that were trailing it.

The UAE sent Coast Guard vessels towards the ship only once it reached UAE waters, according to officials at the Pentagon, prompting the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy ships to turn away. The UAE has a strict non-confrontation policy with Tehran, making the Coast Guard's actions highly unusual.

An official at the UAE's Coast Guard however, said that the UAE reacted in a normal way to the broadcast of any mayday call and that ships were sent to meet the ship as it had contacted the Coast Guard directly to ask for help.

US officials said that the US Navy did not get involved in the incident, while other sources have suggested the ship was trailed by Iran because its owners is liable for damages to an Iranian-owned oil platform.

A spokesman for the vessel's Norwegian manager Transpetrol said it was attacked at sea at 0800 GMT on Thursday on its way to Fujairah. "The nature of the attack is still unclear," the spokesman said.

"She reached UAE waters and she is in the port of Jebel Ali now. The vessel is safe and there are no injuries to crew." The incident has been reported to the Singaporean government, although no official response has yet been made.

The ship was trailed by five Iranian ships and a crew member described the warning shots as "small arms fire". The Iranian ships ceased their pursuit the moment UAE Coast Guard vessels came to the ship's assistance, according to reports.

Iran is currently in a standoff with a Saudi-led coalition over security inspections of one of its own cargo ships and last month seized a Marshall Islands-flagged container ship Maersk Tigris in the Strait of Hormuz.

It forced that ship into Iranian waters by firing shots across its bow, suggesting that the same approach was taken in the attempted seizure of Alpine Eternity.

Saudi-led forces have imposed inspections on ships bound for war-torn Yemen in an attempt to prevent weapons being smuggled to the rebel Houthi group that controls much of the country and is allied with Iran.

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Visa to offer new mobile payment service in India

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