Towards the end of
April 2015, Strait of Hormuz - at its
narrowest, the strait is 21 nautical miles (39 km) wide was in news for wrong
reasons. Considered as a choke point – some trouble does garner global
attention. It is the only sea passage
from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean and is one of the world's most
strategically important choke points.
Here, to reduce the risk of collision, ships moving through the Strait
follow a Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS): inbound ships use one lane, outbound
ships another, each lane being two miles wide. The lanes are separated by a
two-mile-wide "median". Twenty percent of oil traded worldwide moves
by tanker through the Strait of Hormuz.
It
was reported that the Iranian military
on Tuesday [28/4/2015] seized a Western
cargo ship in the Persian Gulf. The
Pentagon said, the Marshall Islands-flagged Maersk Tigris did not have any U.S.
citizens aboard and was travelling through the Strait of Hormuz when the
confrontation occurred. Al Arabiya, the
Saudi news network, initially reported that a U.S. vessel has been fired on and
steered to the Bandar Abbas port by Iran. Iran's Fars News Agency also reported
that an "American trade vessel" had been confiscated. The Pentagon called the Iranian firing of warning shots at
the ship "inappropriate." According
to a report in Tehran’s semi-official Fars news agency, the Iranian Navy
“confiscated the American trade vessel” because it was “trespassing” in Iran’s
territorial waters.
The vessel in news
was Maersk Tigris, registered in
Marshall Islands, a brand new 52,600-ton
container ship, built in 2014; managed by Singapore-based Rickmers Ship
Management, which is part of Hamburg-based Rickmers Group. According to the ship-tracking site
MarineTraffic.com, the 52,600-ton cargo vessel departed from Ambarli, Turkey
April 8 en route to Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. Going by the map, it is stated that it
abruptly changed course in the Strait of Hormuz and was heading to the Iranian
port of Bandar Abbas, after being captured.
Today,
BBC reports that the container ship seized in the Strait of Hormuz by Iran last
week has been released, its operator has confirmed. Rickmers Shipmanagement
said the 24 crew members of the Maersk Tigris were "in a good
condition".
Moving
away from the news of forced seizure and gun-firing, Iran said the ship was
detained because of a legal dispute between the Danish company chartering it,
Maersk, and a private Iranian firm. Maersk says the dispute dates backs to
2005, when it delivered 10 containers to Dubai for Pars Oil Products. The
containers were not collected and the cargo was disposed of after 90 days by
the UAE authorities, it asserts. The
Iranian company subsequently accused Maersk of default and claimed $4m (£2.6m)
as the value of the cargo. Maersk said it challenged the suit successfully and
in 2007 the case was dismissed. However, an appeals court ordered it to pay
$163,000 (Rs.1.04 crores approx) in February.
Iran's
Ports and Shipping Organisation said permission for the release of the ship was
given on Thursday after Maersk "ensured the provision of a letter of
guarantee for the enforcement of the judicial decision". A Maersk statement said the release followed
"a constructive dialogue with the Iranian authorities, including the Ports
and Maritime Organization, and the provision of a letter of undertaking in
relation to the underlying cargo case".
We will continue our dialogue with the aim to fully resolve the cargo
case." Danish Foreign Minister
Martin Lidegaard said the government was involved in the negotiations. "For
Denmark as a seafaring nation, it is obviously a priority that international
obligations are complied with and that ships can sail in the Persian
Gulf," he added.
The
ship was expected to arrive at Jebel Ali, in the United Arab Emirates, late on
Thursday or early Friday, where it will be met by representatives of Rickmers. The
seizure of the Maersk Tigris in one of the world's major shipping lanes
threatened to turn into an international incident. Shots were fired across the
bow of the vessel by the Iranian patrol boats before it agreed to change course
for Bandar Abbas.
The
US called the Iranian action "unacceptable" and sent the destroyer
USS Farragut to the area to monitor the situation. Maersk said its ship was in
an international shipping lane when it was detained, but Tehran insisted it had
been in Iranian waters.
Now
the strait is much calmer perhaps !
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
Photo and news source : www.bbc.com
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