Two American minesweepers are heading towards the Strait of Hormuz.
Two US minesweepers are heading to the Middle East on Tuesday as part of escalating military moves aimed at securing navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, amid continuing tensions in the region.
The US website “Wartime Zone” reported that the minesweepers “USS Chief” and “USS Pioneer”, of the “Avenger” class, left their bases in Japan heading to the region, coinciding with Washington’s announcement of the start of an operation to clear the strait of sea mines.
According to data from the Marine Traffic website, the two ships were spotted crossing the Strait of Malacca in a northwesterly direction, after leaving Singapore on April 10, while reports indicated that they had arrived at a port in Thailand.
The U.S. Naval Institute News website stated that “the ships were sent to support operations within the U.S. Central Command,” which in turn announced the start of preparing the necessary conditions for removing mines from the strait, following the passage of U.S. destroyers through the area as part of missions to secure navigation.
Reports indicated that “unmanned submarines and additional support vessels will join the operations in the coming days,” as part of a broader plan to secure vital sea lanes.
These moves coincide with the redeployment of US Independence-class littoral combat ships, along with movements of naval support vessels, reflecting an escalation in the US military presence in the region.
The Wall Street Journal quoted a senior US official as saying that “the United States has deployed more than 15 warships to support the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.”
She added, citing officials in the US Navy and Central Command, that “the force deployed in the Middle East includes an aircraft carrier, several guided-missile destroyers, an amphibious assault ship, and other naval vessels.”
Officials noted that “these ships are equipped with helicopters to support interception and inspection operations, and some of them have the ability to direct commercial vessels to specific areas and control their movement.”
The US military threat to impose control over the movement of ships leaving and entering Iranian ports came into effect yesterday, Monday.
Shafaq.com