While you were sleeping

A U.S. Maritime Alert reported two recent maritime incidents in the Persian Gulf which threatened commercial vessels.

The first incident was the discovery of a mine placed on the hull of a Liberian-flagged tanker in the Persian Gulf off Iraq in the vicinity of position 29-34N 48-47E on December 31, 2020. The second incident was the Iranian seizure of a South Korean-flagged tanker in the Strait of Hormuz on January 4, 2021. These incidents have been confirmed. Exercise caution when transiting this area.

U.S. commercial vessels operating in this area should review U.S. Maritime Advisory 2020-011 (Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Gulf of Oman, Arabian Sea, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Indian Ocean-Threats to Commercial Vessels by Iran and its Proxies) for amplifying information and points of contact and report small boat activity in the vicinity of their vessel to the U.S. Fifth Fleet Battle Watch.

Any maritime industry questions regarding this alert should be directed to GMCC@uscg.mil.