Support NeoGAF

[MJPIA]

http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/24/politics/iranian-vessels-come-within-300-yards-of-us-destroyer/

A US Navy patrol craft fired three warning shots at an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps boat Wednesday after US officials said it had harassed that patrol craft, CNN has learned.

Another US patrol craft and a Kuwaiti Navy ship were also harassed in the incident, which took place in the northern end of the Persian Gulf.
At one point, the Iranian boat came within 200 yards of one of the US Navy boats. When it failed to leave the area after the Navy had fired flares and had a radio conversation with the Iranian crew, the US officials said, the USS Squall fired three warning shots. Following standard maritime procedures, the Navy fired the three shots into the water to ensure the Iranians understood they needed to leave the immediate area.

In an encounter Tuesday, a US Navy official told CNN four Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps vessels conducted a "high-speed intercept" of the USS Nitze in waters near the Strait of Hormuz Tuesday, deeming the incident "unsafe and unprofessional."
The official said two of the vessels slowed and turned away only after coming within 300 yards of the US guided-missile destroyer as it transited international waters near the Strait of Hormuz, and only after the destroyer had sent multiple visual and audio warnings.

In the wake of Tuesday's incident, the Nitze and US Naval Forces Central Command have determined that the Iranian vessels were violating international law and maritime standards, acting dangerously and unprofessionally.

The Iranian vessels moved at high speed toward the Nitze, which was operating in accordance with international law in international waters and ignored maritime "rules of the road" as set out in the 1972 Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea. According to the Navy official, the IRGC vessels ignored multiple warnings, creating a dangerous, harassing environment that could have pushed the Nitze to take defensive measures, escalating the situation.

The four IRGC vessels approached at high speed. After identifying them, the Nitze tried 12 times to make contact by radio without receiving a response, according to the Navy official. As two of the Iranian vessels continued to barrel toward the Nitze at high speed, the destroyer used an internationally recognized maritime danger signal three times.

That signal -- five short blasts of the ship's whistle -- is used when another vessel's intentions are not understood or its indicated course is dangerous. At the same time, the Nitze also used visual warnings, firing 10 flares in the direction of the approaching vessels. Again, the destroyer got no response, the official said.
Despite the Nitze's close proximity to off-shore oil rigs, the ship altered course to move away from the approaching Iranian vessels and avoid a potential collision. Only after the two Iranian vessels had closed to within 300 yards of Nitze did they slow their speed before ultimately moving away.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=McSC5LP15Gk&ab_channel=USNINewsVideo
Its not video of the USS Squall that fired the warning shots but here's video of the USS Nitze's Tuesday encounter with the Iranian vessels.
Fire a warning shot if old.

 

[Kas]

Here's hoping WWIII isnt caused by idiots doing basically fly-bys

 

[Forerunner]

US Navy needs to watch out, they might have flags.

 

[TheRealTalker]

Iran getting cocky now that Russia is its Big MAMA

 

[Irnbru]

Wait , that's it? Those tiny boats? lol

 

[antonz]

Wait , that's it? Those tiny boats? lol

Realistically any kind of ship to ship issues in the gulf would be tiny ships like that packed with explosives.

 

[Irnbru]

Realistically any kind of ship to ship issues in the gulf would be tiny ships like that packed with explosives.

I know, it's just kinda silly thinking of the scale of a destroyer next to those little boats, reading the article made it sound like it was a large boat barreling down unable to get out of the way.

 

[AxelFoley]

Iran getting cocky now that Russia is its Big MAMA

Russia can catch these hands, too!

 

[TheLostBigBoss]

Wait , that's it? Those tiny boats? lol

Actually, tiny ships packed with explosives can be a major threat. (And as others below noted, was the cause for one the largest terrorist attacks in US history)

Back in 2002, there was a major military simulation in the region and the US Navy got completely borked via a second wave attack of small crafts with suicide bombers and conventional attacks.

Red, the guy who was running the enemy side, fucked up the US side so bad they literally restarted the simulation so the US could win.

 

[cruets]

USS Cole in 2000 was blown up by a small boat off Yemen. Definitely take small craft approaching seriously

 

[Joezie]

Wait , that's it? Those tiny boats? lol

Small fiberglass boats did this to an Arleigh-Burke Destroyer in 2000. 17 dead, 39 injured.

Small boats are no joke in that region.

 

[MJPIA]

Wait , that's it? Those tiny boats? lol

USS Cole ended up with a 40-60ft hole in it by a tiny boat.
I'd image they take any possible threat by any boat no matter how small very seriously.

{E} and beaten a thousand times.

 

[Log4Girlz]

Missiles are just tiny little planes when you think about it

 

[lastplayed]

Realistically any kind of ship to ship issues in the gulf would be tiny ships like that packed with explosives.

A torpedo, basically.

 

[nephilimdj]

USS Cole was docked though, these boats clearly were military marked

No real different to USA flying low over Chinese disputed base or any of the other silly bugger stuff that happens with Russia

 

[Althane]

USS Cole was docked though, these boats clearly were military marked

No real different to USA flying low over Chinese disputed base or any of the other silly bugger stuff that happens with Russia

As a commander with people's lives under you, would you take that chance?

It's not like anyone got shot, so it's not like the US overreacted in this case. Everyone goes home, that's a story that has a happy ending.

 

[Seductivpancakes]

Be glad they decided not to summon tsunamis with their flags.

 

[NullPointer]

Haven't these kinds of encounters been going on for decades now?

 

[Dishwalla]

They did exactly what they were supposed to do in that situation. Have been deployed several times and have received this training many times. The Navy doesn't mess around with this stuff after the aforementioned Cole bombing(because the truth is the bombing never should've happened/wouldn't have happened with better training, and the Navy knows it).