July 16 2012 US Navy Ship Fires on Small Boat off Dubai, Killing 1

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates : U.S. Navy gunners aboard a refueling ship opened fire on a small boat racing toward them in broad daylight Monday near the Gulf city of Dubai, killing one person and injuring three.




The rare shooting not far from approaches to the Strait of Hormuz comes at a period of heightened tensions between the United States and nearby Iran.
A UAE official said the vessel was a fishing boat. It was unclear why it might have veered so close to an armed American vessel.
There was no immediate sign of Iranian involvement, or any indication that the incident was a reprise of al-Qaida's 2000 bombing of the USS Cole in Yemen. But the incident will likely focus further attention on the risks American vessels face in the Gulf even as the Navy beefs up its presence in the region.
Lt. Greg Raelson, a spokesman for the Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet, said a security team aboard the USNS Rappahannock issued a series of warnings before resorting to lethal force about 10 miles (15 kilometers) off the coast of Dubai's Jebel Ali port.
"The U.S. crew repeatedly attempted to warn the vessel's operators to turn away from their deliberate approach. When those efforts failed to deter the approaching vessel, the security team on the Rappahannock fired rounds from a .50-caliber machine gun," he said.
Raelson said the incident, which happened at 2:50 p.m. local time, is under investigation.
The Rappahannock is an oiler used to fuel other Navy ships while they are at sea.

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