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In what appears to be a new operational pattern, U.S. Central Command has disabled two more Iran-bound tankers in the Gulf of Oman using Navy fighter jets - this time, by striking their stacks. The strikes are a resource-efficient alternative to boarding and seizure, and appear to be effective in preventing tankers in ballast from reaching Iranian ports, where they would provide floating storage and extend Iran's ability to continue production.
Central Command said Friday that it had dispatched an F/A-18 Super Hornet from USS George H.W. Bush to interdict two Iranian-flagged tankers in Ballast, which were bound for a port on Iran's Gulf of Oman coastline. The fighter used "precision munitions" to hit each tanker's stack, "preventing the non-compliant ships from entering Iran." This is an unconventional location to target with disabling fire, but entails reduced risk of flooding when compared with an attack on the rudder or the engine room.
In the previous strike, conducted Wednesday, another Super Hornet used its 20mm cannon to disable the exposed rudder of the Iranian-flagged tanker Hasna, which was also attempting to reach Iran's Gulf of Oman coast. All three of the tankers have ceased their transits, CENTCOM said. Any plans for salvage, seizure or crew assistance have not yet been released.
Overall, CENTCOM says that it has redirected 57 tankers attempting to enter or leave Iran's ports since the start of the U.S. blockade in April, plus an additional four vessels disabled. Independent tracking consultancies have identified leakage of a smaller number of empty tankers through the naval cordon over the course of the last several weeks; the new tactic of airborne interdiction provides Central Command with an efficient way to tighten the blockade, without the additional resourcing needed to board, secure and store noncompliant vessels that refuse to follow turn-around directives over VHF.
"U.S. forces in the Middle East remain committed to full enforcement of the blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iran," said Adm. Brad Cooper, CENTCOM commander. "Our highly trained men and women in uniform are doing incredible work."
Fuente: Maritime Executive
