US sinks boat carrying explosive materials from Iran to Yemen

MANAMA -- The US Navy said Tuesday (November 15) it had sunk a vessel transporting "explosive materials" from Iran to supply the Houthis in Yemen, with enough power to fuel a dozen ballistic missiles.

The boat, which the US Navy seized on November 8 in the Gulf of Oman, was sunk on Sunday after it was determined to be a hazard to navigation for commercial shipping, the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet said.

"The vessel and its four Yemeni crew members were intercepted while transiting from Iran along a route historically used to traffic weapons to the Houthis in Yemen," the navy said in a statement.

US Coast Guard ship John Scheuerman and guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans interdicted the vessel as it transited international waters.

Patrol coastal ship USS Hurricane and US Navy explosive ordnance disposal technicians from the 5th Fleet also assisted during the weeklong effort to fully search the vessel and verify the type of material found.

Lethal cargo

The lethal cargo was found to include more than 100 tonnes of urea fertiliser and over 70 tonnes of ammonium perchlorate, a key ingredient "commonly used to make rocket and missile fuel as well as explosives", the navy said.

Urea is a chemical compound with agricultural applications that also is known for use as an explosive precursor.

It was the first time the 5th Fleet, which operates in the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman, Red Sea and parts of the Indian Ocean, has seized ammonium perchlorate during an interdiction.

"This was a massive amount of explosive material, enough to fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles depending on the size," said Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of the US Naval Forces Central Command.

"The unlawful transfer of lethal aid from Iran does not go unnoticed," he said. "It is irresponsible, dangerous and leads to violence and instability across the Middle East."

The direct or indirect supply, sale or transfer of weapons to the Houthis violates UN Security Council Resolution 2216 and international law, the navy said.

UNSCR 2216 calls for all parties in Yemen, in particular the Houthis, to immediately and unconditionally end violence.

The four Yemeni sailors were handed over to the Yemeni coastguard during an at-sea exchange in the Gulf of Aden.

Commitment to deterrence

The United States and partner forces are "committed to security and stability of the region", said US Central Command (CENTCOM) Gen. Michael "Erik" Kurilla.

These forces are committed "to deterring the illegal and destabilising flow of lethal material into the region over land, in the air, and the sea", he said.

The 5th Fleet previously seized 40 tonnes of urea fertiliser on January 18, when guided-missile destroyer USS Cole and patrol coastal ship USS Chinook interdicted another fishing vessel in the Gulf of Oman.

That vessel, interdicted as it travelled from Iran along a route previously used to smuggle weapons to the Houthis, had attempted to smuggle illicit weapons off the coast of Somalia months earlier.

Earlier this month, United States sanctions targeted critical nodes for a weapons trafficking network that is closely integrated with the "Islamic State of Iraq and Syria" in Somalia (ISIS-Somalia).

Iranian fingerprints were all over the multi-million dollar arms trafficking enterprise, that funneled weapons between Iran, Yemen and the Horn of Africa.

According to the US Treasury, Iranian weapons and money are deeply entangled in the illicit network, allegedly feeding the violence by al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda affiliate based in Somalia, and ISIS-Somalia.

The US sanctions, targeting eight individuals and one company, were announced two days after al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for October 29 bombings that killed at least 100 and injured 300 in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.