Tension is rising and Dubai is getting hotter...
 

A 677-foot United States Navy refueling ship in the Persian Gulf opened fire on Monday with a .50-caliber machine gun on what appeared to be a 30-foot sport fishing boat after it ignored repeated warnings to stop, killing a crew member and causing a spike in oil prices that reflected the heightened tensions in the region between Iran and the United States.

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The United States Fifth Fleet command in Bahrain said in a statement that the shooting took place near the coast of the United Arab Emirates , a close American ally. The statement did not specify whether there were casualties or identify the nationality of the smaller vessel. But an American defense official said one person was dead, and the official news agency of the United Arab Emirates identified the victim as an Indian fisherman. At least three other Indians aboard were wounded, the agency said.

The encounter, which the Fifth Fleet command said was under further investigation, came against a backdrop of increasingly belligerent warnings from Iran against a buildup of naval forces in the area by the United States, which considers the free flow of oil from the Persian Gulf a vital national interest. The tensions have grown this month because of new Western sanctions aimed at stifling Iran’s oil exports.

The larger vessel’s response also appeared to reflect heightened awareness of the potential threat of small powerboats piloted by suicide attackers, such as the one that blew a 40-foot hole in the side of the Navy destroyer Cole in October 2000 while it was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden, killing 17 sailors.

The news of the shooting on Monday, along with reports over the weekend that Iran planned to increase its military presence around the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil transit route at the Persian Gulf’s entrance, lifted international oil benchmark prices by as much as $2 a barrel on Monday.

The Fifth Fleet said the encounter happened near the Emirates port of Jebel Ali, a docking point for American naval vessels about 30 miles southwest of Dubai.

“An embarked security team aboard a U.S. Navy vessel fired upon a small motor vessel after it disregarded warnings and rapidly approached the U.S. ship near Jebel Ali,” Lt. Greg Raelson, a spokesman for the Fifth Fleet, wrote in an e-mailed statement.

“In accordance with Navy force protection procedures, the sailors on the U.S.N.S. Rappahannock used a series of nonlethal, preplanned responses to warn the vessel before resorting to lethal force,” he said in the statement. “The U.S. crew repeatedly attempted to warn the vessel’s operators to turn away from their deliberate approach. When those efforts failed to deter the approaching vessel, the security team on the Rappahannock fired rounds from a. 50-caliber machine gun.”

Lieutenant Raelson did not immediately provide further details.

Defense officials said the Navy crew’s efforts to warn away the vessel, which appeared to be a pleasure craft, included firing several warning shots.

The Rappahannock is a fleet replenishment oiler, used to refuel other naval vessels at sea. The Web site of the Navy’s Military Sealift Command described it as 677 feet long and 97 feet wide, with a regular crew of 84, of whom 81 are civilian mariners; the embarked security team would be in addition to the regular crew.

The Associated Press reported from Dubai that the smaller boat could have been mistaken for a threat in the gulf waters off Dubai, which are not far from Iran’s maritime boundaries.

The smaller vessel docked after the episode in a small Dubai port used by fishermen, and dozens of police officers and Emirati officials crowded around it, The A.P. reported, describing the vessel as a white-hulled civilian craft about 30 feet long, powered by three outboard motors. Similar boats are used for fishing in the region. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps also uses relatively small, fast-moving craft in the Persian Gulf.

Do you only fly locally in India?
 

Totally disagree with you. Flying around in areas where there is elevated military action is stuff every pilot (and sea captain) ought to be aware of...you know, monitoring guard frequencies, pre calling Air Defence radar prior to FIR entry, awareness of interception procedures....etc etc etc....maybe this is something you don't do?

If the guys were posting here about ladies fashion, Oprah re-runs or the latest song by Cher then I'd say you might have a point.

Otherwise I think its a fair post especially since many of us live close by.

PS...Right back at you re: nice day ahead.

Totally agree. We also post about DU and Etisalat, traffic on Sheik Zayed Highway (AKA Sh!t Your Dead Highway) and things that affect aviation professionals living and working in the region.

It may have been a misunderstanding of the warning....but seems very poor judgement to go speeding towards any war ship.

The Gulf may get hotter and start to glow if Iran and its ancillary terrorist network groups continue to kill innocent Israeli tourists. :mad::eek:

That's what happens when you go sailing up next to a big grey ship with numbers painted on the bow...... even fishermen would know that has some inherent problems associated with it, especially after the USS Cole attack.

Oh hang on a minute, a sport fishing boat with 3 outboards. That indicates a need for speed, not jollying along with lines out of the stern.

Even so, every one knows how paranoid the Yanks are....I'm not justifying it, but come on, everyone knows the danger involved if you approach a military ship, plane, facility.

...and look what heat can do to your brain. EX 380 blah blah...better you pay a visit to Dr. Ahmed...

You're wrong, Sass. The training was completed stateside; this was the test of knowledge and it looks like they passed.

Local fishing trip, habibi style:

-Stand around in white dress, talking to friends on cell phone while indians refuel boat, load bait.
-Talk on cell while driving fast with over-powered triple-outboard to GPS location someone else found.
-Call friends on cell while indian drops anchor, gets tackle, assembles rod, baits hook, casts line, gets nibble then hands over the rod.
-Reel in fish until bored or tired.
-Hand rod to indian and call friends on cell.
-Look away while indian reels in fish.
-Smile for camera holding fish "you" caught.
-Drive fast to GPS location of marina in straight line watching the NAV screen and calling friends on cell, ignoring large grey navy vessels directly ahead - "MY country..."
-Get hosed down by vessel and blame dead indian, now duct-taped back together and propped up behind what's left of the wheel.
-Call friends on cell and start massaging the "facts".
-Insist leftover indians clean your fish before short-changing them on salary.

They're not tourists, they're "guest residents."

One thing is for certain....
 

It wasn't their fault....

I mean these warships are camouflaged and difficult to see, and all that very loud "STOP YOUR ENGINES AND DO NOT MOVE OR YOU WILL BE FIRED UPON" though the hailer, no doubt in Arabic, Farsi, Urdu, English along with the sirens and flashing lights could have just been wind noise in the sun canopy or the sounds of waves lapping the hull.

Yes...I'm sure that they were taken completely by surprise. Perhaps the tinting was too dark to see the 700 foot vessel ahead.

Who needs common sense anyway?

Ham...

You are wise to the ways of this land.....but do you know the airspeed velocity of a laden swallow carrying a coconut which it grippith by the husk?

Paranoia?
 

The American military can't hold a candle to Australia Quarantine. It's they that should be running the country's defense.

@CAYNINE
Er, no. Not everyone understands this. An Indian boat crew from a p*ss-poor background are likely to follow any instructions given to them (apparently there were two Emirati's on board) in fear of losing their jobs.

To me, it looks like a thrill ride which went wrong.

Hey Ex A380,

Trigger happy Yanks you say...

May be they should have done what the 15 Royal Navy sailors did in 2007 when they were approached by Iranian Rev Guard sailors in Iraqi/Intl controlled waters - throw their arms in the air, their guns in the water and allow themselves to be taken prisoner for two weeks...

... Yes it would have been a different story back then if it was 'trigger happy Yanks'...Of that you can be rest assured.

But hey...each to their own.

; >

f.

X380=tosser

This message is hidden because Ex A380-800 driver is on your ignore list=adult conversation.

Try it, you'll like it.

Repeated warnings, yet still carry on unabated toward a military ship full of fuel? Yet you say this cannot be justified by any sane citizen? Would love to know your definition of sanity.

If you were in charge of said ship armed with the knowledge of what has been done in the past...what would you do, keeping in mind you have the luxury of time...no Armchair Quarterbacking please.

You're welcome, they also have a history of being in harms way so arrogant pricks like you have the liberty to criticize them, walk a mile in their shoes then think about it