A former Cape Cod-based Coast Guard cutter had a tense encounter with an Iranian vessel earlier this month in the southern Persian Gulf.
The Monomoy, whose homeport was previously Coast Guard Station Woods Hole, was conducting a routine security patrol April 2 with another U.S. patrol vessel when the Harth 55, attached to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, repeatedly crossed the bows of the U.S. vessels at extremely close range, according to Rebecca Rebarich, spokesperson for the U.S. 5th Fleet.
“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy’s actions were deemed unsafe and unprofessional,” Rebarich said in an email to the Times on Thursday. “Their actions increased the risk of miscalculation and collision.”
US Navy
On April 2, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) Harth 55, accompanied by three fast attack craft (FAC)/fast inshore attack craft (FIAC), approached U.S. Coast Guard patrol boats USCGC Wrangell (WPB 1332) and USCGC Monomoy (WPB 1326) while the U.S. vessels were conducting routine maritime security patrols in the international waters of the southern Arabian Gulf. The Harth 55 repeatedly crossed the bows of the U.S. vessels at an unnecessarily close range, including crossings of both Wrangell and Monomoy’s bows at a 70 yard closest point of approach (CPA). The Harth 55 closed aggressively on Wrangell’s bow, resulting in Wrangell maneuvering to avoid collision while sounding five short blasts from the ship’s horn.