The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy are now operating in the Arabian Sea in response to the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, a US Defense Department spokesman said.
Briefing the Pentagon press corps yesterday morning, Army Col. Steve Warren said the U.S. warships “are operating [in the Arabian Sea] with a very clear mission to ensure that shipping lanes remain open, to ensure there’s freedom of navigation through those critical waterways, and to help ensure maritime security.”
On April 19, the Roosevelt, escorted by the Normandy, transited the Strait of Hormuz from its station in the Arabian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, according to a recent release from U.S. Naval Forces Central Command Public Affairs.
The Roosevelt and the Normandy have joined other U.S. forces conducting maritime security operations in the Arabian Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb and the Southern Red Sea.
The Defense Department also is watching a convoy of nine Iranian cargo ships now in international waters in the Gulf of Aden, Warren said.
They have not declared their intentions or [indicated] what they’re going to do. At this point [the ships] have demonstrated no … threat.
He added that having American sea power close by will allow the United States to keep a close eye on the cargo ships.
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Image: US Navy