Posted on 01/18/2012 7:40:01 PM PST by Hunton Peck
For the third time this month, the U.S. Navy has come to the rescue of distressed Iranian fishermen -- at the same time Iran has threatened to disrupt a key oil route off its coast.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Dewey rendered aid to the crew of a sinking Iranian fishing dhow in the central Arabian Sea, according to a Navy press release.
A helicopter from the Maritime Strike Squadron 71 spotted the fishing boat Wednesday morning reportedly with one person on board.
"Our first priority was to make sure that all of the crew (of the fishing vessel) was safe," Lt. Will Jourdan, pilot of the helicopter, said in the press release.
After the the vessel had been identified, it was reported back to the Dewey's crew, who then moved in to help the fisherman who had fled the boat and boarded another.
"Once we talked with their captain, it was clear that they needed food and water," Lt. J.G. Jason Dawson, the...
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
And here I thought Pres. Ford suspended wet operations during his short tenure in office, too.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.