Reuters, Washington :
Iranian naval vessels fired shots at a Singapore-flagged tanker in the Gulf on Thursday, in what appeared to be Iran’s latest attempt to settle a legal dispute by force with passing commercial vessels, U.S. officials said.
The incident unnerved the shipping industry just as President Barack Obama met with Gulf allies to try to allay their concerns that Iran would be empowered by a deal to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the West lifting sanctions.
U.S. officials, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said five Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy ships approached the Alpine Eternity oil products tanker at about noon (0800 GMT), prompting the ship to flee to safety in United Arab Emirates’ waters.
One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran had attempted to intercept the vessel in international waters because Tehran says the tanker is liable for damage to an Iranian-owned oil platform it hit on March 22.
The White House, Pentagon and State Department declined to confirm emerging details about the episode but acknowledged concern about Iran’s conduct.”This is exactly the type of challenge that many of the (Gulf) partners are focused on,” said White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes.
Two weeks ago, Iranian patrol ships diverted a Marshall Islands-flagged container vessel from the Strait of Hormuz to settle a years-old debt case.
Shipping industry officials said they were bracing for the likelihood of even more tensions at sea, which could lead to a spike in shipping costs.
“The pattern looks like the Revolutionary Guards are using a commercial pretext to intervene in the incidents to date,” said one shipping underwriter. “This could start to impact upon (insurance) rates.”
The Pentagon did not rule out again ordering U.S. warships to accompany commercial vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz, as it did after the last incident.
The tanker’s owner, South Maritime Pte Ltd, said in a statement that the ships, which it believed to be Iranian, first fired warning shots but then directly fired on the vessel after it ignored an order to stop.
