Small Boat Policy Changes for U.S. War Ships
While transiting north in international waters in the Central Arabian Gulf on April 24 2008, the MV Westward Venture was approached by two unidentified small boats. Following proper procedure, the American vessel issued standard queries to the small boats via bridge-to-bridge radio, but, received no response. The American ship then activated a flare, which also did not receive a response.
The small boats continued toward the Totem Westward Venture and its security team fired warning shots. The small boats left the area. A short time later, the Westward Venture received a query from a unit identifying itself as Iranian Coast Guard. It is not clear if this was one of the small boats or a separate boat. The query was routine and correct.
The Westward Venture is a U.S. flagged and chartered roll-on/roll-off ship. It is a ~1,000 foot-long cargo ship, owned by Totem Ocean Trailer Express. U.S. responses to similar incidents are now apparently guided by the following 'standing orders,' as described by Dr. Mustafa Alani, below:
By Dr. Mustafa Alani, Senior Advisor and Director of Security & Terrorism Department at Gulf Research Center, Dubai
It was just after sunset on Monday, March 24, 2008 when a motorboat carrying three Egyptian traders approached the US container ship 'Global Patriot' in the Gulf of Suez as it prepared to sail towards the Mediterranean.
The 'Global Patriot' was carrying used US military equipment. When the Egyptian motorboat came too close to the US ship, it was warned to stop. These warnings went unheeded, and the crew of the US ship was ordered to open fire. One person was killed and two were injured as a result.
According to US Navy sources, the crew of the US ship had warned the small boats to turn away via bridge-to-bridge radio besides a series of other warning measures. However, one small boat continued to approach the US ship, and that was when the order to open fire was issued.
Egyptian sources explained that it was usual for fisherman and hawkers on small boats to ply the waters of the canal trying to sell cigarettes and other local products to ships passing through, and that the crew of the US ship possibly acted nervously and in an unjustifiable manner.
A statement issued by the US Fifth Fleet disputed the Egyptian claim about casualties stating that the crew of the 'Global Patriot' had only fired warning shots at a small boat approaching the vessel, following multiple warnings to turn away. "There were no reports from the Global Patriot of casualties," the statement said. Later, however, the US acknowledged that there had been casualties.
This incident in the Gulf of Suez is not an isolated one. In January this year, five Iranian speedboats challenged three US ships (identified as Navy cruiser USS Port Royal, destroyer USS Hopper and frigate USS Ingraham) in the Strait of Hormuz. According to the US version of the event, the Iranian speedboats had not only behaved provocatively and harassed the US vessels, but also made a threat through radio communication to 'blow them up.' The speedboats, believed to belong to Iran's Revolutionary Guards Naval command, came within approximately 200m (650ft) of the US vessels.
The US Navy said that the Iranians withdrew as the US ships prepared to open fire and that the order to the crew to open fire was actually issued. The confrontation, which occurred in international waters, lasted about 20 minutes. This incident happened on a major oil-shipping route, and the consequences of such an incident could have sparked off a major military confrontation that would have undermined the security and the freedom of navigation in one of the most vital regions for the global economy.
Most recently, on April 25, a US ship, Westward Venture, working for the US Military Sealift Command fired warning shots in the direction of two unidentified speedboats in the Gulf waters, a few miles from the Iranian coast. The US military spokesperson said that the speedboats withdrew soon after the warning shots were fired.
What alarmed the US Navy even more, however, is the series of naval exercises conducted by the naval command of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps during 2007, which focused, among other skills, on perfecting mock attacks on ships by small speed boats packed with large amount of high explosives and on operations by divers using limpet mines.
Following the Strait of Hormuz incident, the US naval command in the region expressed its concern over the conduct of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps-Naval command describing it as 'provocative and irresponsible.'
Indeed, since Al Qaeda organized seaborne suicide attacks just off the Yemen coast on USS Cole in October 2000 and later on the French oil tanker Limburg in October 2002, the US Navy has been fully aware of the threat posed to its vessels by small speedboats and motor powered boats in general and understands the serious consequences of such attacks.
Indeed, from the three incidents which occurred in 2008 — the Strait of Hormuz incident and the Gulf of Suez incident, and the Gulf incident — it seems that the US Navy operating in the Middle East waters has a new and more forceful rule of engagement, which gives 'standing authority' to the commanders of US vessels to open fire on any suspected target believed to pose a potential threat to the safety of their ships.
By examining the two incidents when fire was either actually opened and caused casualties (Gulf of Suez incident) or when an order was actually issued to the gunners to open fire (Strait of Hormuz incident), it seems the US Navy's rules of engagement have specified the danger zone or the engagement zone as a distance not exceeding 200 metres. Thus any unidentified vessel (mainly small boats) approaching US vessels and failing to heed warnings to stop, by coming within the distance of 200 metres (or more) will be subject to attack by US forces.
Such a change in the rules of engagement could be seen as necessary in the context of the escalating and multiple security challenges facing the US forces in the region. These challenges arise from the US confrontation with Iran over the state's nuclear file and over the Iranian interventionist policy in Iraq, Lebanon, and Palestine. Besides, the unstable security situation in Iraq, and the continuing threat from Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups also pose security challenges.
The escalating US-Iran standoff in Iraq and in the Gulf waters has prompted researchers to examine scenarios for conflict between the two states, focusing on two main possible developments: a planned war and an accidental war (basically representing the scenario of a US retaliatory attack on Iran taking advantage of an escalation resulting from an accident).
In view of the recent developments related to the assumed changes in the US Navy's rules of engagement, the accidental war or accidental military confrontation scenario seems more possible than before.
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