Chiefs of US, British and French navies transit through Strait of Hormuz to deter Iran from attacking ships

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – In an extremely rare joint move, the respective chiefs of the US, British and French navies transited through the Strait of Hormuz aboard the USS Paul Hamilton American warship on Friday in a signal to Iran to cease attacking foreign ships passing through this waterway, the Associated Press reports. A strait between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, the Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically critical waterways.

“Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S. 5th Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces, visited crew members as the US Navy increases the rotation of ships and aircraft patrolling the [Strait of Hormuz] strategic maritime chokepoint,” the US Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs said in a May 19 press release.

Vice Adm. Cooper was joined by Joint Commander of the French Forces Deployed in the Indian Ocean Vice Adm. Emmanuel Slaars, and United Kingdom Maritime Component Commander Commodore Philip Dennis, the Centcom press release said.

Sailors and guardsmen on the USS Paul Hamilton, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, saw three fast boats of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard approach them at one point, getting within 915 meters of the ship, AP reports.

“Iran has seized or attacked 15 ships in the last two years. Eight seizures and seven attacks,” Vice Adm. Cooper told AP. “So the shipping industry is mindful of what the security posture looks like in the region. We have the ability to positively impact that influence and that’s what we’re doing now.”

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