| Submit your comments on this article |
| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iranian Fishermen Rescued By U.S. Navy, Again |
| 2012-01-19 |
| For the third time this month, the U.S. Navy has come to the aid of Iranian fishermen. On Wednesday, the guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey came the the rescue of a sinking Iranian fishing dhow, the Al Mamsoor, after an MH-60R Seahawk helicopter spotted it in the Arabian Sea early Wednesday morning. The dhow had been flooding for several days, and by the time the U.S. Navy reached the ship, the Iranian crew had abandoned it and climbed onto other dhows nearby. Still, it was clear that they needed food and water, so the team from the USS Dewey provided the fishermen with 150 pounds of food, water, medical, and hygienic supplies. Earlier this month, American forces rescued a group of 13 Iranian fisherman who had been held captive by Somali pirates for more than 40 days. Just days later, a U.S. Coast Guard cutter came to the aid of another six Iranian fisherman in waters off Iraq, after they issued a distress call that their boat was taking on water. "Without your help, we were dead. Thank you for all you did for us," the owner of the Iranian ship said, according to the Navy. The rescue operations come amid increasing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. |
| Posted by:tipper |
| #6 Gathering intel about our naval assets? Spying is standard operating procedure for nearly all the Gulf and penninsula nations. Based on personal experience, the Iranians tend to concentrate their intel dhows in the waters outside of Bahrain, the Saudi naval bases, and the openings to the Straits. There are several kinds of dhows in the Gulf and the Arabian sea: fishing, cargo, smuggling, pleasure craft, and intel. Also based on personal experience, the last are generally cleaner than the fishing boats they pretend to be, have a few antennas, and if one looks closely enough, can generally see uniforms or parts of uniforms under the 'fisherman's robes'. How much high explosive could be emplaced on a fishing boat? A goodly amount, I would guess. I suspect that you'll just have to leave it up to the judgement of the professionals on scene. |
| Posted by: Pappy 2012-01-19 14:38 |
| #5 Second time is a charm. Third time is a pattern. How much high explosive could be emplaced on a fishing boat? A goodly amount, I would guess. They could also have half a dozen a-holes with half a dozen RPGs each. Remember that they have no respect for human life, for themselves or others, so suicide missions have to be assumed, as well as deception operations, so that one of their coastal subs could sneak up and use its torpedoes. Therefore, the best policy would be to clearly state to Iran that closing the Persian Gulf works both ways. No oil and no fishing. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2012-01-19 09:29 |
| #4 Good seizure and boarding training exercises, but also diversionary distractions much like the earlier high speed runs. the Iranian crew had abandoned it and climbed onto other dhows nearby Wonder why the Dewey even got engaged? This reads a little bit like a mudwater navy intervention. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2012-01-19 09:12 |
| #3 So, are we causing these Iranian boats to sink so we can rescue their crews? The first suspects in arson investigations are firemen. |
| Posted by: Glenmore 2012-01-19 08:32 |
| #2 Gathering intel about our naval assets? |
| Posted by: Ebbising Hupert3653 2012-01-19 08:17 |
| #1 and hygienic supplies That's called toilet paper. Good stuff. Toss it overboard when you see the Iranian "Navy" coming because it's probably unislamic. |
| Posted by: gorb 2012-01-19 01:44 |