PERSIAN GULF: Bizarre but not hostile

When five Iranian speedboats began acting provocatively toward three U.S. warships steaming through the Strait of Hormuz on Jan. 6, one of the U.S. captains had a sense of deja vu.

To Capt. David Adler, skipper of the guided-missile cruiser Port Royal, the Iranians' behavior reminded him of the exercise the Navy staged off San Clemente Island on how to react to such an incident. For openers, he ordered his crew to battle stations.

Although every captain retains the inherent right to defend his ship and crew, U.S. Navy rules require that a captain be sure that an approaching boat has true hostile intent. A checklist has been developed of verbal commands and evasive maneuvers to determine whether such intent exists.

Although the Iranians buzzed the Port Royal, the Hopper and the Ingraham for nearly an hour, the three U.S. captains determined that their behavior, while bizarre, did not rise to hostile intent. 

The Navy in recent years has expended a lot of effort to prepare its captains and crews to sail in the always-dangerous Persian Gulf.

In 1987, an Iraqi missile attack on the frigate Stark killed 37 U.S. sailors. In 1988 the captain of the cruiser Vincennes shot down what turned out to be an Iranian airliner, killing 290.

Both captains were criticized by the brass and saw their careers ruined: the Stark captain for not doing enough to defend his ship, the Vincennes captain for overreacting on allegedly scant information. The incidents were two decades ago but remain fresh in the minds of U.S. captains sailing into the gulf.

"Nobody wants to be the next Stark captain, or the next Vincennes captain," Adler said.

— Tony Perry on the Port Royal

Photo: Iranian speedboat near three U.S. warships in international waters Jan. 6. Credit: U.S. Navy.