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33-513: Iraqi invasion of Iran (1980) Stalemate (1981) Iranian offensives to free Iranian territory (1981–82) Iranian offensives in Iraq (1982–84) Iranian offensives in Iraq (1985–87) Final stages (1988) Tanker War International incidents Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was an American military protection of Kuwaiti -owned tankers from Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into

66-622: A number of states have since 1982 established port state controls of foreign-registered ships entering their jurisdiction. As at January 2010, Panama was the world's largest flag state, with almost a quarter of the world's ocean-going tonnage registered there. The United States and the United Kingdom had only about 1% each. Until World War II nations were able to maintain their dominance, or in some cases, even improve their position in maritime trade by offering vessels exclusive protection for flying their flags, which would in turn give

99-472: A third platform two miles away (3.2 km). Documents and radios were taken for intelligence. On 14 April 1988, 65 miles (105 km) east of Bahrain , the frigate USS  Samuel B. Roberts hit a mine, blowing an immense hole in its hull. 10 sailors were injured. The U.S. retaliated fiercely. On 18 April, U.S. forces launched Operation Praying Mantis , attacking the Iranian fast-attack craft Joshan ,

132-408: Is the case of England, which restricted the import of Asian goods only to American and British vessels. England only opened its ports after it had maneuvered itself into a position of strength, and then most like only to gain access to other continental ports. Similarly, France imposed a trade monopoly on its colonies which remained in place until 1869. Ships must be registered in the ship register of

165-536: The Strait of Hormuz . All 290 passengers and aircrew aboard the Airbus A300B2 died, including 65 children or infants. The two effects of Earnest Will – Praying Mantis and the airliner's downing – helped convince Iran to agree to a ceasefire on 18 July 1988 and a permanent end to hostilities on 20 August 1988, ending its eight-year war with Iraq. On 26 September 1988, USS  Vandegrift escorted

198-738: The Tanker War phase of the Iran–Iraq War . It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II , and flowed from Resolution 598 which had been adopted three days earlier. The U.S. Navy warships that escorted the tankers, part of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command , were the operations' most visible part. U.S. Air Force AWACS radar planes provided surveillance and U.S. Army special-operations helicopters hunted for possible attackers. Other U.S. Navy vessels participated in Operation Earnest Will. They were then under

231-636: The Middle Shoals Buoy, a navigation aid for tankers. With this knowledge, the special operations forces launched three Little Bird aircraft and two patrol craft to the buoy. The aircraft arrived first and were fired upon by three Iranian boats anchored near the buoy. In a short but intense firefight, the aircraft sank all three boats. The captured and wounded Iranians were later taken aboard the USS Guadalcanal for treatment. The injured Iranian detainees were returned through cooperation between

264-472: The Persian Gulf sharply increased thereafter, with both nations attacking oil tankers and merchant ships of neutral nations in an effort to deprive their opponent of trade. Besides concerns about the intensified Tanker War, the superpowers feared that the possible fall of Basra , which was now under threat, might lead to a pro-Iranian Islamic republic in largely Shia-populated southern Iraq . During

297-467: The Persian Gulf, and increasing the probability of an Iran–U.S. confrontation. U.S. Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger indirectly provoked Iran to retaliate. In the following 14 months, many U.S. warships took up escort duties. At one point, more than 30 warships were in the region to support the operation. Earnest Will overlapped with Operation Prime Chance , a largely secret effort to stop Iranian forces from attacking Persian Gulf shipping. Despite

330-478: The U.S. Navy escorts following behind to avoid mines. The operation was widely publicized, and American reporters aboard another ship in the convoy immediately issued reports about the incident, claiming it had "played into Iran's plan". Iran's Prime Minister Mir Hossein Mousavi called it an "irreparable blow to America's political and military prestige", and said that it was the "invisible hands [of God]" that hit

363-506: The U.S. Navy responded with Operation Nimble Archer . Four destroyers shelled two Revolutionary Guard bases in the Rostam oil field, located on oil platforms, that had been used to stage attacks on shipping. After the shelling, the USS ; Thach landed a SEAL platoon and a demolition unit that planted explosives on one of the platforms to destroy it. The SEALs then boarded and searched

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396-584: The U.S. Red Cross and the Red Crescent. Lessons from Earnest Will later led USSOCOM to acquire the patrol coastal ships and the Mark V Special Operations Craft . On 15 October, the reflagged U.S. tanker Sea Isle City was struck by an Iranian Silkworm missile while at anchor near the oil terminal outside Kuwait City . Seventeen crewmen and the American captain were injured in the attack. On 18 October,

429-498: The UN's International Maritime Organization ( IMO ), on matters of safety, navigation, crewing etc. Part XII entail special provisions on protecting the marine environment, which includes placing special obligations on flag states to ensure compliance with international environmental legislation such as MARPOL . Failure to do so, can result in the flag state losing its jurisdiction over ships under its flag, also when these commit violations on

462-543: The US-flagged ship, and expressed hope that the U.S. Congress would put an immediate end to the Administration's plan. The Congress was critical of the re-flagging policy, but still didn't have a united position on the issue. It was an unforeseen development. The commander of the task force admitted that in spite of intelligence warnings, no one had thought it necessary to check the route for naval mines , and it

495-399: The business practice of registering a merchant ship in a state other than that of the ship's owners, and flying that state's civil ensign on the ship. Ships may be registered under flags of convenience to reduce operating costs, or else to avoid the regulations of, or inspection and scrutiny by, the country of the original owner. Normally the nationality (i.e., flag) of the ship determines

528-647: The command of the U.S. Navy's Seventh Fleet which had primary responsibility for combat operations in the Persian Gulf . The numerous ships used in Operation Earnest Will mostly consisted of Carrier Battle Groups, Surface Action Groups and ships from the Pacific's Third and Seventh Fleets and the Mediterranean-based Sixth Fleet . They generally operated in and near the Persian Gulf for parts of their normal six-month deployments. It

561-538: The first four months of 1987, Kuwait turned to the superpowers, partly to protect oil exports but largely to seek an end to the war through superpower intervention. In December 1986, Kuwait's government asked the Reagan administration to send the U.S. Navy to protect Kuwaiti tankers against Iranian attacks. Although members of both the U.S. House and Senate opposed the reflagging policy, the executive debated this idea and finally agreed to it on 7 March 1987. U.S. law forbade

594-661: The frigates Sabalan and Sahand and Revolutionary Guard bases in the Sirri and Sassan oil fields. After U.S. warships bombarded the Sirri base, located on an oil platform, and set it ablaze, a UH-60 helicopter with a SEAL platoon flew toward the platform but was unable to get close enough because of the roaring fire. Secondary explosions soon wrecked the platform. Thereafter, Iranian attacks on neutral ships dropped drastically. On 3 July 1988, USS  Vincennes , mistook Iran Air Flight 655 for an Iranian F-14 and shot it down over

627-413: The helicopters fired guns and rockets, stopping the ship. Iran Ajr ' s crew continued to push mines over the side, and the aircraft resumed firing until the crew abandoned ship. At first light, a SEAL team, assisted by Special Boat Teams, boarded the vessel and discovered nine mines on the vessel's deck, as well as a logbook revealing areas where previous mines had been laid. USS  Hawes towed

660-592: The jurisdiction whose flag it is flying. Flag registers in many countries are open to ships with foreign owners. Normally, each flag state has only one ship register, but several countries have more than one register: Flag states must, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law Of the Sea ( UNCLOS ) ensure that ships under their flag comply with international regulations, often adopted by

693-491: The mine layer (a converted tank landing craft) to the Iran-Iraq war zone. Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians from EOD Mobile Unit 5 scuttled the vessel the following day. The logbook implicated Iran in mining international waters. Within a few days, the special operations forces had determined the Iranian pattern of activity: hide during the day near oil and gas platforms in Iranian waters and at night, head toward

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726-410: The nation exclusive control over the vessels. Shipowners during this time needed protection from pirates and privateers which was provided by naval vessels of the flag state. In some cases states offered subsidies to the shipbuilding industries. In addition to these incentives, states might impose restrictions based on flag state, closing ports to other ships. One well known example of how this was applied

759-424: The northern Persian Gulf , allowing special operations forces to thwart clandestine Iranian mining and small boat attacks. On 21 September, Night Stalkers flying MH-6 and AH-6 "Little Birds" took off from the frigates USS  Jarrett and USS Klakring to track an Iranian ship, Iran Ajr . The Nightstalkers watched Iran Ajr turn off its lights and begin laying mines. After receiving permission to attack,

792-461: The oil terminal and oil tankers at Iran's Kharg Island in early 1984. Iraq had expanded its air force with new, Exocet -equipped French and Soviet aircraft. Saddam's aim in attacking Iranian shipping was, among other things, to provoke the Iranians to retaliate with extreme measures, such as closing the Strait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic, thereby bringing American intervention. Iran limited

825-592: The operation's last tanker to Kuwait. The remaining SEALs, patrol boats, and helicopters then returned to the U.S. Iraqi invasion of Iran Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.227 via cp1104 cp1104, Varnish XID 205221511 Upstream caches: cp1104 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 08:02:09 GMT Flag state The term " flag of convenience " describes

858-651: The protection offered by U.S. Navy vessels, Iran used mines and small boats to harass the convoys steaming to and from Kuwait, at the time a principal ally of Iraq. In late July 1987, Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen, commander of the Middle East Force , requested Naval Special Warfare assets. Special Boat Teams deployed with six Mark III Patrol Boats and two Navy SEAL platoons in August. The Middle East Force decided to convert two oil service barges, Hercules and Wimbrown VII , into mobile sea bases. These were moored in

891-709: The retaliatory attacks to Iraqi shipping, leaving the strait open. Becoming landlocked after the Battle of al-Faw , and due to the blockade of Iraqi oil pipelines to the Mediterranean Sea by Iran's ally Syria, Iraq had to rely on its ally, Kuwait and other Gulf Arab allies to a lesser extent to transport its oil. After increasing attacks on Iran's main oil export facility at Kharg Island by Iraq, Iran started to attack Kuwaiti tankers carrying Iraqi oil from 13 May 1984, and later attacking tankers from any Gulf state supporting Iraq. Attacks on ships of non-combatant nations in

924-482: The targeting of the U.S. warship was accidental. After the passage of UNSCR 598 on 20 July 1987, the U.S. Navy began Operation Earnest Will at 2:00 a.m. (EDT) on 23 July 1987. USS  Crommelin , USS  Fox , USS  Worden , USS  Kidd , and USS  Klakring were the first U.S. Navy ships assigned to escort the Kuwaiti oil tankers, under the command of Rear Admiral Harold Bernsen . On

957-493: The taxing jurisdiction. Since the Flag Right Declaration of 1921, it has been recognised that all states—including land-locked countries —have a right to maintain a ship register and be a ship's flag state. Because of the failure of some flag states to comply with their survey and certification responsibilities, especially flag-of-convenience states that have delegated their task to classification societies ,

990-415: The use of navy ships to escort civilian vessels under a foreign flag , so the Kuwaiti ships were re-registered under the U.S. flag. Before Earnest Will formally began, it became clear how dangerous Persian Gulf operations would be. On 17 May 1987, an Iraqi F-1 Mirage fired two Exocet missiles at the guided missile frigate USS  Stark , killing 37 sailors and injuring 21. Iraqi officials said that

1023-411: The very first escort mission, on 24 July 1987, the Kuwaiti oil tanker al-Rekkah , re-flagged as the U.S. tanker MV Bridgeton and accompanied by US navy warships, struck an Iranian underwater mine planted some 20 miles (32 km) west of Farsi Island the night earlier by a Pasdaran special unit, damaging the ship, but causing no injuries. Bridgeton proceeded under her own power to Kuwait, with

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1056-472: Was soon brought out that not only did the U.S. not have any minesweepers in the Persian Gulf, it did not have any easily accessible minesweepers at all, so the escort operation was placed on hold until minesweepers would be available. The Pentagon deployed Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14 (HM-14) with eight minesweeping SeaStallion helicopters, five oceangoing minesweepers, and six small coastal minesweepers —dramatically increasing U.S. presence in

1089-572: Was the first tactical operation of the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) that involved Navy SEALs , Special Boat Units , and 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) ("Nightstalkers") aviators all working together. The French Navy also supported Resolution 598, as did the British Navy . The so-called "Tanker War" phase of the Iran–Iraq War started when Iraq attacked

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