US Navy interdicts stateless vessel previously caught smuggling weapons

Agencies | Manama

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

On January 18, US 5th Fleet ships interdicted a stateless fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman that was caught smuggling illicit weapons off the coast of Somalia last year.

Guided-missile destroyer USS Cole (DDG 67) and patrol coastal ship USS Chinook (PC 9) interdicted the stateless vessel transiting from Iran in waters outside of any state’s territorial sea along a route historically used to traffic weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.

During a flag verification boarding and subsequent search, US forces discovered 40 tons of urea fertilizer, a chemical compound with agricultural applications that are also known to be used as an explosive precursor.

The vessel was the same stateless dhow interdicted in February 2021 off the coast of Somalia by the guided-missile destroyer USS Winston S Churchill (DDG 81) and was discovered to be carrying weapons.

Among the cache of weapons seized during the February 2021 interdiction were thousands of AK-47 assault rifles, light machine guns, heavy sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and crew-served weapons.

The inventory also included barrels, stocks, optical scopes and weapon systems.

Following the January 18 interdiction, the US Navy transferred the vessel, cargo and five Yemeni crewmembers to Yemen Coast Guard officials on January 21.

US naval forces regularly perform maritime security operations in the Middle East to ensure the free flow of legitimate trade and to disrupt the transport of illicit cargo that often funds terrorism and other unlawful activity.

The US 5th Fleet area of operations encompasses approximately 2.5 million square miles of water area and includes the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea, parts of the Indian Ocean and three critical choke points at the Strait of Hormuz, Suez Canal and Strait of Bab al Mandeb.