US Navy sends guided-missile submarine to Middle East

The USS Florida entered the region and began transiting the Suez Canal. (File/AFP)
Short Url
Updated 08 April 2023
Follow

US Navy sends guided-missile submarine to Middle East

UNITED STATES: The US Navy said on Saturday a nuclear-powered guided-missile submarine was operating in the Middle East in support of the Bahrain-based US Fifth Fleet.
The USS Florida entered the region on Thursday and began transiting the Suez Canal on Friday, Commander Timothy Hawkins said in a statement.
“It is capable of carrying up to 154 Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles and is deployed to US 5th Fleet to help ensure regional maritime security and stability,” Hawkins said.


Vessel struck off Oman’s Muscat, UKMTO says

Updated 39 min 23 sec ago
Follow

Vessel struck off Oman’s Muscat, UKMTO says

DUBAI: A vessel was struck ​on Sunday by an unknown projectile 50 nautical miles north of ‌Oman’s capital, ‌Muscat, ​the ‌United ⁠Kingdom ​Maritime Trade Operations agency ⁠said.
The attack resulted in a fire in the ⁠vessel’s engine ‌room that ‌has ​been ‌brought under ‌control, UKMTO added.
It is the second incident ‌the agency reports on Sunday after reporting ⁠an ⁠incident off Oman’s Kumzar in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian state television said Sunday that an oil tanker was sinking after it was struck while attempting to pass through the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
The incident took place as Iran exchanged strikes with the United States and Israel, who launched an attack Saturday that killed the Islamic republic’s supreme leader.
“The fate of the offending oil tanker that was struck while attempting to illegally pass through the Strait of Hormuz is that it is now sinking,” state TV reported, without elaborating.
It carried footage showing heavy black smoke emanating from the burning tanker at sea.
The strait carries a quarter of the world’s seaborne oil and a fifth of all liquified natural gas.
On Saturday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had warned that the vital waterway was unsafe due to US and Israeli attacks and was therefore closed to ships.