West poised to give Gulf tankers military escorts

Western allies are discussing plans to send military protection for oil tankers in wake of Iran attack.

GULF OF OMAN - JUNE 13: In this Powerpoint slide provided by U.S. Central Command damage from an explosion, left, and a likely limpet mine can be seen on the hull of the civilian vessel M/V Kokuka Courageous in the Gulf of Oman, June 13, 2019, as the guided-missile destroyer USS Bainbridge (DDG 96), not pictured, approaches the damaged ship. Sailors aboard Bainbridge aided the crew of Kokuka Courageous. Bainbridge is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet areas of operations in support of naval operations to ensure maritime stability and security in the Central Region, connecting the Mediterranean and Pacific through the western Indian Ocean and three strategic choke points. (Photo by U.S. Navy via Getty Images)

Western allies are discussing plans to send military protection for oil tankers in vital shipping lanes amid rising tensions with Iran after the attack on two tankers in the Strait of Hormuz.

President Trump yesterday repeated claims by Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, that Tehran had ordered the attack on Thursday. It had “Iran written all over it”, he told Fox News.

Jeremy Hunt, the British foreign secretary, said last night: “Our own assessment leads us to conclude that responsibility . . . almost certainly lies with Iran. These latest attacks build on a pattern of destabilising Iranian behaviour and pose a serious danger to the region.”

Western officials played down speculation of a prompt response, saying that despite their confidence that Iran was to blame, investigations would be allowed to take their course. But they said that action would have to be taken to protect tankers and other civilian vessels transiting the strait, the busiest oil shipping lane in the world.

“The challenge is to build a consensus of how we do that - Britain, other European partners, the United States, Gulf allies, Japan and Norway - whoever has skin in the game,” one said.

Norway, Japan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have all had oil tankers holed in the past five weeks. China, India and South Korea are also big purchasers of Gulf crude.

Thanks to increased tensions in the Gulf, many affected countries already have a substantial naval presence in the region, with dedicated ports around the Arabian peninsula from the newly built Duqm in Oman, to Abu Dhabi and the British naval facility in Bahrain.

One obstacle is finding a neutral body to lead a joint protection operation. The International Maritime Organisation is being considered but may not have the political clout.

Despite the high tensions in the Gulf after America’s decision to send an aircraft carrier fleet and more B52 bombers to face down Iran last month, Thursday’s attacks are understood to have caught the West by surprise.

The Pentagon was able to release visual evidence to back up its claim of Iranian responsibility. It said that a military aircraft had spotted a Revolutionary Guard Hendijan-class patrol boat and a number of fast-attack boats near the Front Altair, a Norway-owned tanker that was set on fire. An Iranian craft approached a South Korean cargo vessel that had taken the Front Altair’s 23 crew on board and requested that they be handed over, which they were.

A race ensued between another Iranian ship and the American warship USS Bainbridge to rescue the 21 crew of the second tanker, the Japan-owned Kokuka Courageous, which the American ship won.

The crew said that they had abandoned ship after seeing an unexploded limpet mine on the side of the tanker. The Bainbridge sailors subsequently photographed and released pictures of what appeared to be a mine still attached to the side.

Later on Thursday afternoon military aircraft took video showing a Revolutionary Guard Gashti Class patrol boat alongside the Kokuka Courageous. Pentagon officials say the men on board were removing the unexploded mine to conceal evidence.

The head of the Japanese company that owns the Kokuka Courageous gave a slightly different account, saying that crew had seen a “flying object” hit the side of the ship. Yutaka Katada pointed to the fact that the damage to the tanker was well above the waterline.

Jeremy Binnie, the Middle East editor of Jane’s Defence Weekly, said there were different ways sailors could attach limpet mines. At arms fairs Iran has shown off large (42kg) limpet mines that it possesses.

The 23 crew of the Front Altair were later filmed by Iranian state television as they watched a video of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, making a speech. The Kokuka Courageous crew returned to the tanker, which in the end was not seriously damaged, as it was towed to port.

Mr Trump made no threat of retaliation in his interview with Fox News, beyond insisting that any attempt to close the strait “would not last long”. Instead he said that the tough action he had taken against Iran, by pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposing sanctions, was working. He also repeated that he was hoping for talks with Iran rather than “to hurt that country”. “We’re ready when they are. In the meantime I’m in no rush,” he said.

Iran denied that the video proved it was responsible and accused the US and its Gulf allies of trying to scapegoat it. President Rouhani called America a “threat to global stability”, and Russia said that America’s “Iranophobia” was artificially fuelling tensions.

- The Times