Update: More details emerge in Maersk Tigris story

U.S. Naval Forces Central Command has begun accompanying U.S.-flagged maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.    More details have emerged in the developing story involving a Maersk containership that was seized by the Iranian Navy earlier this week. Both Maersk Line and the government of Iran have said the Maersk Tigris, which was fired upon and forced to anchor in Iranian waters Tuesday, was made to do so because of a commercial lawsuit.
   Rickmers, who owns the cargo ship and employs its crew, said Thursday that following an urgent request to Iranian authorities, a representative of the company was allowed to board the Maersk Tigris to attend to its 24-member crew.
   “In his contacts with the crew our representative has been able to establish that all seafarers are safe and on board the vessel. Given the current circumstances they are all in a good condition,” Rickmers said in a statement. 
   “We would like to stress that Maersk Line is not the owner of Maersk Tigris and has no involvement in the day-to-day-operation of the vessel,” the company said. “Furthermore we would like to emphasize that we take our responsibilities as an international service provider to the shipping industry very seriously complying with all applicable laws and regulations as we have done on our scheduled commercial voyage from Jeddah to Jebel Ali.”
   “As we believe our crew, the vessel and our company have no part in the current issue between Iran and Maersk Line, we see no valid reason for the detention of the ship and would therefore like to do an urgent and strong appeal to the Iranian authorities for the immediate release of our seafarers and the vessel. In the meantime, all our efforts will be aimed at ensuring the well being of our crew and their families. Simultaneously, we will continue to liaise with relevant international authorities and professional advisors to come to a swift resolution of this very serious matter.”
   In the latest twist to this story, a United States Defense Department official said forces from the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) have begun accompanying U.S.-flagged maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
   “There are currently sufficient U.S. Naval forces assigned to NAVCENT to meet the requirements of the accompanying mission,” the official said. “NAVCENT will coordinate with shipping industry representatives to ensure accompanying operations are conducted smoothly and efficiently.”
   “Current plans call for the accompanying of U.S- flagged ships, although there are discussions with other nations to include their vessels as well. We’ll leave any discussion of these matters to the individual nation to discuss publicly.”
   Last week, a U.S.-flag ship, the Maersk Kensington was reportedly followed by Iranian vessels.
   CNN reported Thursday afternoon, “The worry is that with the uncertainty about Iran’s intentions, any seizure of a U.S.-flagged vessel could provoke an international incident with Iran.”
   A defense official told CNN, “This is a way to reduce the risk of confrontation.”