When the author of the articla is stating that the Indian vessel was "anchored" in the channel...
I am wondering if this is just bad reporting or poor seamanship...
In my experience you do not anchor anywhere near a "channel" or other navigable waterway where other ships may ply...
Yes, there are areas that you can anchor for whatever reason required...
I was in (and operated in) the Persian Gulf before it was cool to be in the Persian Gulf...1985-1989, and back again for all the fun in the sun in '91...
All I know is the Iranians are notorious for "spoofing" GPS systems at every level...
The bottom line is that these personnel should not have been taken hostage without a fight...And if they were instructed by rules of engagement to not resist an Iranian encounter by force...
Well then the laugh is on the British government...
And now the entire process is diffused because the time to have acted has way come and gone...
I always told my folks that if push comes to shove you may rest assured that when you find my remains...That my hands (in this case) would be around the throat of the remains of one, and hopefully surrounded by many others of my captors...
This is going to be such a farce when and if this gets resolved...
And the Iranians will come out smelling like roses...
Ask me how many times I violated Iranian waters back in my day...And if I gave a Shiite??? ;-)
What you wrote .... Bump!