USS FARRAGUT RESPONDS TO IRANIAN NAVAL ACTIONS AGAINST COMMERCIAL SHIP

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

Right:  An MH-60S Knighthawk helicopter flies by the guided-missile destroyer USS Farragut during a replenishment-at-sea evolution in the Arabian Sea on Dec 4, 2012. U.S. Navy photo.  

USS Farragut Responds to Distress Call From Maersk Tigris
By Cheryl Pellerin
DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON, April 28, 2015 – U.S. Naval Forces Central Command in Bahrain answered a distress call this morning issued by the Maersk Tigris container ship, after an Iranian Navy ship fired shots across its bridge and Iranian personnel boarded the commercial vessel, a Pentagon spokesman said today.

Army Col. Steve Warren told members of the Pentagon press corps that at about 2:05 a.m. Eastern Time, several Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, or IRGCN, patrol vessels approached the M/V Maersk Tigris, a Marshall Islands-flagged cargo vessel.

The commercial ship was in Iranian territorial waters transiting inbound, or north, in the Strait of Hormuz, between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman in the Arabian Sea. It is one of the world’s major strategic choke points, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Shots Across the Bridge

“The ship's master was contacted and directed to proceed further into Iranian territorial waters. He declined and one of the IRGCN craft fired shots across the bridge of the Maersk Tigris,” Warren said.

After this, the master complied with the Iranian demand and proceeded into Iranian waters near Larak Island, Warren said. Larak Island is off the coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf.

Warren said the Maersk is still at sea. Initial reports are that members of the Iranian IRGCN have boarded her and there are no further updates, he added.
Navcent, having picked up the distress signal, directed the USS Farragut, an Arleigh Burke class guided-missile destroyer, to proceed to the nearest location of the Maersk Tigris, Warren said.

Navcent also directed a Navy maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft to observe the interaction between the Maersk vessel and the IRGCN craft, he added.

The Tigris’s destination, according to a marine-traffic website, was Jebel Ali, a port town 22 miles southwest of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.

Under a Marshall Islands Flag

Maersk is a Danish company, but the Maersk Tigris was sailing under a Marshall Islands flag.


The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a sovereign nation for which the United States has full authority and responsibility for security and defense under the terms of an amended compact that entered into force in 2004.

The United States and the Marshall Islands have full diplomatic relations, according to the U.S. State Department.

Navcent is the U.S. Navy element of U.S. Central Command. Its area of responsibility includes the Red Sea, the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. Navcent consists of the U.S. Fifth Fleet and other subordinate task forces.

“Navcent is communicating with representatives of the shipping company,” Warren said. “We continue to monitor the situation.”

Innocent Passage

The Pentagon spokesman said the Strait of Hormuz is in Iranian territorial waters, which is within 12 miles of the Iranian coast.

But, he said, because the narrow strait is recognized as containing international shipping lanes, the principle of “innocent passage” is applied, so ships that abide by international rules of the sea are authorized to pass through the strait.
Warren said that there are no Americans among the 30 or so people aboard the Maersk Tigris.

RECENT U.S. NAVY PHOTOS TAKEN IN PERSIAN GULF

FROM:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE 

The amphibious assault ship USS Makin Island pulls alongside the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Persian Gulf, Oct. 10, 2014. The George H.W. Bush is supporting maritime security operations, strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed, and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Lt. Juan D. Guerra.

An F/A-18C Hornet attached to Strike Fighter Squadron 15 launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Persian Gulf, Oct. 10, 2014. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Joshua Card.

AIRCRAFT CARRIER ORDERED TO PERSIAN GULF TO PROVIDE PRESIDENT OBAMA OPTIONS

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 

Hagel Orders Carrier USS George H.W. Bush Into Persian Gulf

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2014 – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has ordered the aircraft carrier USS George H.W. Bush to move today from the North Arabian Sea into the Arabian Gulf, Pentagon Press Secretary Navy Rear Adm. John Kirby said.
In a statement, Kirby said the order will provide President Barack Obama additional flexibility should military options be required to protect American lives, citizens and interests in Iraq.

The Bush will be accompanied by the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea and the guided-missile destroyer USS Truxtun. The ships are expected to complete their transit into the Gulf later this evening, Kirby said.

The USS George H.W. Bush left its home port of Norfolk, Virginia, in February and is operating in the Middle East region as part of an ongoing rotation of forward-deployed forces to support maritime security operations, he added.
“American naval presence in the Arabian Gulf continues to support our longstanding commitments to the security and stability of the region,” Kirby said.

NEWLY DEPLOYED LASER WEAPONS HIGHLIGHT NEED FOR HIGH-VOLTAGE POWER GENERATION

FROM: U.S. NAVY

Lasers Bring New Urgency to Electric Power Research
Date: 4/25/2013 3:14:00 PM
By David Smalley, Office of Naval Research

ARLINGTON, Va. (NNS) -- In the wake of the recent announcement that laser weapons will be put on U.S. Navy ships, the need for reliable, high-voltage shipboard power has become a matter of national security, officials said at this week's Electric Ship Technologies Symposium outside Washington, D.C.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR)-sponsored event featured some of the world's top scientists and engineers in power systems, who agree that a new era in electric power is within sight.

"The work being done in this area is vital," said Dr. Thomas Killion, who heads ONR's Office of Transition. "As the upcoming deployment of a shipboard laser weapon reminds us, we need power generation and power management systems with greater-than-ever capabilities, but from devices that are smaller than ever."

Earlier this month, Chief of Naval Operations Jonathan Greenert announced that for the first time a laser weapon system (LaWS) will be placed onboard a deployed ship, USS Ponce, for testing in the Persian Gulf in 2014. The announcement underscored the need for accessible high-power electric generation, capable of meeting the substantial demands that will be needed to power laser systems and other high-power weapon systems.

As the technology advances, and faced with rising and unpredictable fossil fuel costs, the Navy's next-generation surface combatant ship will leverage electric ship technologies in its design.
While electric ships already exist, design characteristics of a combatant ship are more complex with regard to weight, speed, maneuverability-and now, directed energy weapons.

ONR-supported scientists are focused on cutting-edge technologies that include silicon carbide (SiC)-based transistors, transformers and power converters.
"SiC is important because it improves power quality and reduces size and weight of components by as much as 90 percent," said Sharon Beerman-Curtin, ONR's power and energy science and technology lead. "This is a critical technology enabler for future Navy combatant ships that require massive amounts of highly controlled electricity to power advanced sensors, propulsion and weapons such as lasers and the electromagnetic railgun."

Killion said that a lighter, smaller footprint on ships will contribute to the substantial increase in energy efficiency that is predicted from breakthroughs in electric power research.

"The enhanced capabilities and potential cost savings of increased power at reduced size cannot be overemphasized," he said. "This is the future."

Improved power systems could have enormous impact in both military and civilian sectors. Concerns by engineers over an aging power grid in the United States and elsewhere, for instance, have grown in recent years.

The Navy's power and engineering efforts that will further naval power hold similar promise for civilian benefit. ONR sponsors the Electric Ship Research and Development Consortium (ESRDC), composed of eight leading universities. The ESRDC is focused on afloat power systems, and leads efforts to address a national shortage of electric power engineers, and ensure U.S. superiority in electric systems.

Some of the critical technologies ONR is working on include power-dense electronics; new power conversion capabilities; energy storage; and sensors, weapons and protection. Killion said all of these areas deserve support because they are of naval and national importance.

"A key challenge in designing an all-electric future naval combatant ship is enabling technologies that can provide power agility with minimal energy storage needs," said Beermann-Curtin. "We are making truly noteworthy progress toward those goals."

At the symposium, Killion also announced the pending Fiscal Year 2013 Small Business Innovation Research solicitation opportunities in the power and energy area, including continued development of automated methods for design of cooling systems; alternative power supplies; ship energy use monitoring and analysis methods; compact connectors; and compact power for radio frequency sources.

GEN. DEMPSEY SAYS GULF CRITICAL TO U.S.

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Gulf Remains Critical to U.S. Interests, Dempsey Says
By Karen Parrish
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, March 18, 2013 - The U.S. commitment to security in the Persian Gulf remains firm, the nation's senior military officer said here today.

Speaking as part of a recurring Persian Gulf forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussed how budget pressures and a force drawdown will affect U.S. military engagement in the Gulf region.

Countries bordering the Persian Gulf include Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Oman.

Dempsey noted he lived and worked in Iraq and Saudi Arabia for many years. "I came here today with a message of assurance -- a little peace of mind in the context of uncertainty," the general told the audience.

Nations and people share an interest in a common future, he said, "and that will always be the case, and always factor into the decisions we make about distribution of forces, partnering, engaging -- all the things we've done, really, for the past 25 or 30 years -- to make sure that the Middle East, in particular, is on a path for greater security and stability."

The U.S. presence in the Gulf since 1991 was originally because of Saddam Hussein's aggression, Dempsey said. "But we stayed there because, I think, we came to a realization that the future of the region was tied to our future ... [through] shared interests in a common future where people would be able to build a better life, and where threats could be managed collaboratively -- not by the United States uniquely, but by the relationships we would build," he added.

Dempsey said his view is that while the number of U.S. boots on the ground or airplanes in the sky varies over time, that's not a good measure of regional commitment. He said multinational training and military school exchanges, for example, offer U.S. and allied forces opportunities to build commitment and partnerships in the Gulf region.

Dempsey noted the 10-year anniversary of the start of the Iraq War serves as an occasion to reflect on U.S. actions there.

"I spent three years in Iraq. ... We're all aware that tomorrow is the 10-year anniversary, and the debate goes on about whether we should have, whether it was worth it -- and that debate will go on," he said.

Dempsey said his personal belief is the United States achieved two significant results in Iraq.

"First of all, there is no longer the strongman, the dictator, and the threat to the region ... that there was," he said, referring to the fall from power and subsequent execution of Saddam Hussein.

"Secondly, and I think importantly, we've given the Iraqi people an incredible opportunity," the chairman said. While he acknowledged the Iraq War included missteps and opportunities gained and lost, he noted that, in the end, the nation gained a partner and lost an adversary.

"It remains to be seen, still, about how strong a partner they are willing [to] and can become," he said. "But we have a partner."

Dempsey said he seeks to build relationships in the Gulf, as in other regions, that are not measured simply in terms of air wings or carrier battle groups. Where allied and partner nations are willing to build their capabilities, he said, the United States is eager to help. He noted a recent counter-mine exercise involving some 24 nations.

"That's the future," he said. "Not necessarily the United States of America sitting there with half of the United States Navy positioned in the Gulf, but rather ... a long-term strategy that's feasible given the resources available."

The United States has strong Gulf allies in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Jordan, Dempsey said.

"We just have to figure out, 'How do we help you do more, so we can do less?" he said. "But that doesn't mean less well."

From September 2001 to June 2003, Dempsey served in Saudi Arabia, training and advising the Saudi Arabian National Guard. In June 2003, he took command of the Army's 1st Armored Division in Baghdad, where he led the division for 14 months. In August 2005, he returned to Iraq for two years to train and equip the Iraqi security forces. From August 2007 through October 2008, Dempsey served as the deputy commander and then acting commander of U.S. Central Command.