Navy Says Cargo Ship Fired On Vessel In Suez Canal
 

http://wbztv.com/national/suez.canal....2.684108.html

1 Egyptian Killed In The Incident

CAIRO, Egypt (AP) ― An American cargo ship under contract to the U.S. Navy opened fire on a small Egyptian boat while moving through the Suez Canal, the Navy said Tuesday. Egyptian authorities said at least one man was killed.

The Global Patriot was heading in the direction of the Mediterranean after dark Monday when it was approached by several small boats, according to both Navy and Egyptian officials.

"The ship warned the small boats - via bridge to bridge radio and a series of warning steps - to turn away. One small boat continued to approach the motor vessel, which then repeatedly fired shots," said the statement from the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which did not mention casualties.

The U.S. Navy is very careful about the activities of small boats near their war ships ever since the 2000 suicide attack by a motor boat on the USS Cole in Yemen killed 17 sailors. According to the U.S. statement, there was a Navy security team aboard the Global Patriot, which was under contract to the Navy's Military Sealift Command.

An Egyptian security official at the canal, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, said the ship fired several warning shots before shooting a man dead in the small motor boat and wounding three other men with him.

Small boats selling cigarettes and other products often swarm the civilian ships moving through the canal. These waterborne merchants know not to approach military vessels but the Global Patriot looked like a civilian ship, said the official.

Egyptian officials confirmed that as of 10 a.m. local time the ship was still in the canal, but expected it to leave in a matter of hours.

The Global Patriot is registered to the New York-based Global Container Lines and, according to the company Web site, the vessel trades between the United States, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf and the East Africa.

Sounds like the maddox and turner joy
 

Story all over again, sorry but I just don't seem to be able to trust our government these days without proof positive. If you got bullet holes then you got shot at. Otherwise it is just another lie. The story dosen't add up, several days later you got shot at??????

BULLSHIT

Well, the story says the men on the Global Patriot fires several warning shot but the boat still continued to approach. If that's true then the guys on the small boat were very determined enterpreteurs or damned stupid. If someone shoots at me I'm gonna take the hint.

LA Times Staff Writer - reports the incident
 

Here's a report I pulled down. Not much more to add or comment on whats been said above.


U.S. cargo ship Global Patriot fires on Egyptian boat
One man is reportedly killed in the incident near the Suez Canal, which the Navy describes as involving 'warning shots.'
By Peter Spiegel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 25, 2008
WASHINGTON -- A U.S.-flagged cargo ship contracted by the Pentagon to ferry military equipment fired on a motorboat while preparing to enter the Suez Canal on Monday night, U.S. Navy officials said. Egyptian officials said one Egyptian man was killed and two wounded in the incident.

According to a statement issued by the commander of the Navy's 5th Fleet, the cargo ship used its radio and other measures to warn several small boats that had approached to turn away. But one motorboat, which Egyptian officials said carried local merchandise to sell to crew members of larger ships, continued toward the cargo ship and was fired on.



The statement, by the Bahrain-based command that oversees American naval vessels in the Middle East, described the gunfire as "warning shots." But news service accounts, citing Egyptian navy and security sources, reported that shots hit men in the small boat. The Associated Press identified the Egyptian who was killed as Mohammed Fouad.

Both the U.S. Navy statement and the Egyptian sources, who were not identified by the news services, said the cargo ship was about to enter the Suez Canal, traveling northward toward the Mediterranean Sea, when it was approached by the motorboat. Neither Egyptian nor American officials gave details on the cargo aboard the U.S.-flagged ship, which the Egyptians identified as the Global Patriot. But a recent report in the defense trade publication Inside the Navy said that the Navy's sealift command had recently contracted the Global Patriot for a three-month stint delivering heavily armored troop transporters from manufacturers in South Africa to the Persian Gulf.

According to the contract, the ship was to carry at least 110 of the armored vehicles, known as MRAPs, and was to begin the 90-day contract early last month. Thousands of MRAPs -- short for mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles -- have been rushed to Iraq since they were proved effective in defending against roadside bombs.

The AP, however, reported that according to an Egyptian naval official, the cargo ship had sailed from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and was carrying used military equipment.

Other news agencies reported that dozens of small boats in the area surrounded the ship in protest of the shooting, but quickly dispersed. The waterways in and around the Suez Canal are well known for the hundreds of small boats bearing goods for sale.

"The incident is under investigation," Vice Adm. Kevin J. Cosgriff, the 5th Fleet commander, said in the Navy's statement. "Fleet authorities are working cooperatively with Egyptian authorities through the U.S. Embassy in Cairo."

U.S. Navy ships have been on high alert in the region since Iran captured 15 British sailors and marines in the Persian Gulf a year ago, holding them hostage for two weeks.

The closest U.S. ships have come to firing at similar-size boats came in January, when a group of small Iranian boats operated by Tehran's Revolutionary Guard navy allegedly charged and threatened three American warships as they were passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

U.S. officials said they believed the Iranians dropped boxes in the water and threatened to blow them up, and naval officers were on the verge of firing on the fast boats when they broke off and retreated. The account was later disputed by Iranian officials.

According to the website of Global Container Lines, the New York-based shipping group that owns the Global Patriot, the ship can carry rolling stock and containers, as well as bulk cargo. A photo of the ship shows no visible military markings.