US tells vessels to relay transit plans, says Iran jams systems

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DUBAI, Aug 8, (Agencies): The US maritime agency has told US-flagged commercial vessels they should send transit plans in advance to American and British naval authorities if they intend to sail in Gulf waters following several incidents over tankers involving Iran.

The seizure of commercial vessels and attacks on tankers near the Strait of Hormuz have unsettled shipping lanes that link Middle Eastern oil producers to global markets.

The United States, which has increased its military forces in the region, has blamed Iran for blasts on several tankers near the Strait, a charge Tehran denies.

Britain has said it was joining the United States in a maritime security mission in the Gulf to protect vessels after Iran seized a British-flagged tanker.

“Heightened military activity and increased political tensions in this region continue to pose serious threats to commercial vessels,” the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) said in an advisory on Wednesday.

“Associated with these threats is a potential for miscalculation or misidentification that could lead to aggressive actions,” it added.

Ships should also alert the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet and the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations in the event of any incident or suspicious activity. It warned they could face interference to their global positioning systems (GPS).

MARAD said in at least two incidents involving commercial vessels and Iran since May 2019 ships had reported interference with their GPS and “spoofed” communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or other warships.

It advised crews to decline Iranian forces permission to board if the safety of the ship and crew would not be at risk but said they should not forcibly resist any boarding party.

Traffic through the Strait, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil passes, has become the focus for a standoff between Iran and the United States after President Donald Trump quit a 2015 nuclear pact and reimposed sanctions on Tehran.

Iran says the responsibility of securing these waters lies with Tehran and other countries in the region.

“The maritime coalition that US is trying to form will create more instability and insecurity,” Iran’s Defence Minister Amir Hatami was quoted as saying by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency on Thursday during phone calls with his counterparts from Qatar, Oman and Kuwait.

Washington is lobbying other nations to join the coalition along with Britain, which has the largest naval presence in the area after the United States.

Britain’s P&O Cruises said it had cancelled cruises around Dubai and the Gulf because of the increased tensions.

The MARAD has issued a new advisory of threats for commercial vessels by Iran in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman such as “GPS interference,” as well as other threats.

“Heightened military activity and increased political tensions in this region continue to pose serious threats to commercial vessels,” the advisory noted.

It warned that “associated with these threats is a potential for miscalculation or misidentification that could lead to aggressive actions.”

It added that vessels operating in the Arabian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz and Gulf of Oman “may also encounter GPS interference, bridge-to-bridge communications spoofing, and/or other communications jamming with little to no warning.”

MARAD indicated that in at least two recent incidents, “vessels reported GPS interference. One vessel reportedly shut off its Automatic Identification System (AIS) before it was seized, complicating response efforts.

Vessels have also reported spoofed bridge-to-bridge communications from unknown entities falsely claiming to be US or coalition warships.”

“The United States is committed to safeguarding freedom of navigation, the free flow of commerce, and the protection of US vessels and personnel in this region,” it stressed.

It affirmed that “the international community, including the United States, continues maritime security operations within this region.”

Meanwhile, a US defense official told CNN that “Iran has placed GPS jammers” on Abu Musa Island, which lies close to the Strait of Hormuz but that the “Iranian jammers have no effect on US military warships and aircraft.

P&O Cruises has cancelled cruises around Dubai and the Arabian Gulf after Iran seized a British-flagged tanker in the region.

Citing increased tensions, the company said it has cancelled its planned programme in the region from October until at least March next year and all guests be issued a full refund.

Last month, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards seized a British tanker, Stena Impero, near the Strait of Hormuz for alleged marine violations. That came two weeks after Britain seized an Iranian oil tanker near Gibraltar, accusing it of violating sanctions on Syria.

“As a British company flying the Red Ensign it is not advisable for us to maintain our planned Dubai and Arabian Gulf programme this winter season,” said Paul Ludlow, P&O Cruises president.

“We have therefore taken the unusual step of withdrawing Oceana from the region for the upcoming season.”

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