US 'Made Variety of Efforts' to Help Release Maersk Tigris

World | May 5, 2015, Tuesday // 09:45|  views

Photo by EPA/BGNES

The US maintains "a robust presence", in the waters near the Strait of Hormuz "to deter destabilizing activities," State Department Spokesman Jeff Rathke has said.

Rathke made the comment at a Monday press briefing. His remark was with regard to the Maersk Tigris ship was seized by Iranian authorities last week, with an Iranian company which seeks damages from Denmark's Maersk Group arguing the reason was purely "commercial". The Maersk Tigris, bearing the flag of Marshall Islands, has a Bulgarian captain.

We have made a variety of efforts to help secure the release of the ship, including communicating with the commercial entities involved, our diplomatic communication with the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

He added that Washington remained "in contact with them to peacefully resolve the incident and ensure safe passage for the vessel and its crew," but said he would not "get into further details about... diplomatic exchanges about the ship."  

He said that US forces were now accompanying both US- and UK-flagged maritime traffic transiting the Strait of Hormuz.

Discussing the US responsibility toward the Marshall Islands for the Maersk Tigris, a reporter is quoted as asking: "because [the Marshall Islands] rely entirely on the United States for their defense, does that mean that they are essentially under the NATO umbrella?"

"No, the North Atlantic Treaty applies to the North Atlantic," Rathke's answer reads.

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Tags: Maersk Tigris, ship, Bulgaria, Iran, Jeff Rathke, Marshall islands, NATO, Bulgarian, captain

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