The Persian Gulf and nearby areas

[Pelican]

Commander UK Mine Countermeasures Force

Jan 10 Flares & firing! RFA Cardigan Bay conducted a night firing at sea exercise in the Arabian Gulf, with only flares and the stars to guide them.
Despite challenging conditions, RFA personnel did a great job honing their skills.
Photos at - https://twitter.com/CommanderUKMCMF/sta ... 91/photo/1

[Pelican]

Iran seizes oil tanker St Nikolas near Oman - reports

Iran has seized a Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, state media reports.

Armed men wearing masks have reportedly boarded the vessel St Nikolas, close to the Omani port of Sohar, and ordered it to sail to an Iranian port.

It is unclear why the tanker has been targeted.

The St Nikolas was in transit between the Iraqi port of Basra and its intended destination in Turkey.

UK Maritime Trade Operations said on Thursday it had received a report that four to five "unauthorised persons", reportedly wearing "military style black uniforms with black masks", had boarded the ship at 03:30 GMT.

They added that communications with the vessel had been lost and that the authorities were investigating.
Continues at - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67948119
Also see - https://www.lloydslist.com/LL1147900/Ta ... d-off-Oman




“Radar-Evading” Abu Mahdi Warship Joins IRGC Navy | Iranian Speedboats Get Kowsar Missiles, 3D Radar

Jan 7, 2024 IRAN
The IRGC Navy took the delivery of an advanced warship, named after Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis, at Iran’s southern port city of Bandar Abbas. The IRGC Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Reza Tangsiri said the warship has a naval endurance of 14 days. Tangsiri said the warship can cruise within a radius of 2,000 nautical miles by evading the enemy’s radar detection
Powered by four propulsive engines, the Abu Mahdi warship can stay afloat under Force Six conditions. Watch the video to more about the warship.
See - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mivUiKo1gO0 - LFT


And - https://missilethreat.csis.org/missile/

[Pelican]

Two US Navy sailors reported missing while conducting operations off coast of Somalia

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Two U.S. Navy sailors were reported missing at sea while conducting operations off the coast of Somalia on Thursday evening, the U.S. military said in a statement on Friday, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing to locate them.

"The sailors were forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations supporting a wide variety of missions," the U.S. Central Command said. The statement added that additional information would not be made available until the personnel recovery operation was complete.

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout

Yesterday Houthis made a failed attack on an oil tanker 90nm South East of Aden.
Believed to be MV Khalissa - a "dark fleet" ship carrying sanctioned Russian oil to India.

[Pelican]

Two US Navy sailors reported missing while conducting operations off coast of Somalia

WASHINGTON, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Two U.S. Navy sailors were reported missing at sea while conducting operations off the coast of Somalia on Thursday evening, the U.S. military said in a statement on Friday, adding that search and rescue operations were ongoing to locate them.

"The sailors were forward-deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet (C5F) area of operations supporting a wide variety of missions," the U.S. Central Command said. The statement added that additional information would not be made available until the personnel recovery operation was complete.

Navy Lookout

Pentagon says two service members missing are Navy SEALs that were attempting to board a ship off the coast of Somalia on Thursday night.
In rough seas, one of them slipped off the boarding ladder and a member of the team then jumped into the water to try to rescue him.
Both soon disappeared in the swells.
See - https://archive.is/QlJ9X

[Pelican]

U.S. Central Command has announced that the Search-and-Rescue Operation for 2 Navy Sailors off the Coast of Somalia is continuing tonight, with additional details having been released today stating that the 2 Sailors are Navy SEALs that were attempting Board a Vessel in 8ft Swells when one of them fell Overboard and the other following Protocol, Jumped into the Water to try and Rescue him.

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout
On 11 January US Navy SEALs operating from USS Lewis B Puller executed a complex boarding of a dhow near the coast of Somalia in international waters supplying Iranian-made weapons to the Houthis.
Items sized included propulsion, guidance and warhead components for medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles.
Photos at - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 5288516818

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout
HMS Chiddingfold collided with HMS Bangor while berthing in Bahrain yesterday.
Not the first time.
In April 2021 Chiddingfold struck HMS Penzance and was out of action for 3 months under repair.
The Hunt class MCMVs can be difficult to manoeuvre in harbour and are vulnerable to gusting winds.
Video via MilitaryBanter.
See - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 6842487289

Navy Lookout
The banter and memes will doubtless be epic but before jumping to conclusions, this could have been caused by mechanical failure rather than ship handling error.

Royal Navy
A statement from Rear Admiral Edward Ahlgren OBE, Commander Operations "I am aware of a recent incident that took place between two minehunters in Bahrain Harbour. First of all I would like to stress that thankfully nobody was hurt in the collision, but some damage was sustained

[Pelican]

Navy Lookout
HMS Chiddingfold collided with HMS Bangor while berthing in Bahrain yesterday.
Not the first time.
In April 2021 Chiddingfold struck HMS Penzance and was out of action for 3 months under repair.
The Hunt class MCMVs can be difficult to manoeuvre in harbour and are vulnerable to gusting winds.
Video via MilitaryBanter.
See - https://twitter.com/NavyLookout/status/ ... 6842487289

Navy Lookout
The banter and memes will doubtless be epic but before jumping to conclusions, this could have been caused by mechanical failure rather than ship handling error.

Royal Navy
A statement from Rear Admiral Edward Ahlgren OBE, Commander Operations "I am aware of a recent incident that took place between two minehunters in Bahrain Harbour. First of all I would like to stress that thankfully nobody was hurt in the collision, but some damage was sustained

Navy Lookout
Several credible sources have said this accident was caused by serious mechanical malfunction following maintenance work on HMS Chiddingfold carried out by contractors.

[Pelican]

Posted earlier by UKDJ:

British minehunters collide in Gulf, damage to be assessed
Video shows a collision between two Royal Navy vessels in the Gulf.
The information that came to me earlier today, roughly outlined, was that HMS Chiddingfold has collided with HMS Bangor.
I reached out to the Ministry of Defence for comment and confirmation, however, video has now surfaced of the incident, confirming it happened.
Continues at - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/british ... -assessed/