Brits in Yacht race unintentionally stray into Iranian waters, Iran gets all pissy.
13 replies, posted
[img]http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/46831000/gif/_46831403_world_mideast_gulf_yacht.gif[/img]
[release]Five Britons have been detained by the Iranian navy while sailing a racing yacht from Bahrain to Dubai, the Foreign Office (FCO) has said.
They were on a Volvo 60 yacht belonging to Sail Bahrain stopped on 25 November.
The FCO said the crew - Luke Porter, Oliver Smith, David Bloomer, Oliver Young and Sam Usher - may have "strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters".
Organisers of the Muscat Offshore race said the crew may have been "drifting" after experiencing propeller problems.
Louay Habib, from the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club, told the BBC the shore crew for the crew's boat the Kingdom of Bahrain had said "there was no wind at the time, and they told us that they were organising for a tow to come and get them".
He added: "It's purely speculation but they would have probably been drifting... in 10 hours they could well have strayed into Iranian waters."
The five, who are still in Iran, are understood to be safe and well and their families have been told.
Mr Smith, 31, an engineer, from Southampton. His teammate Mr Bloomer is said to work as a sports broadcaster in Bahrain.
It is not known where the sailors are being held nor which club they had come from, but the FCO did confirm they were on their way to take part in the Dubai-Muscat race.
The British Embassy in Tehran is demanding the immediate release of the five but has so far only had indirect contact with the crew members.
It is thought the Eid holiday could have delayed proceedings in Iran.
FCO officials have spoken with Iran's ministry of foreign affairs and the Iranian embassy in the UK, while Foreign Secretary David Miliband said he hoped the issue would be resolved "soon" and has asked for a phone conversation with his opposite number in Tehran.
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent Bridget Kendall said the FCO had wanted to keep the matter "private" in order to increase the chance of a resolution.
But after five days the details emerged and they had no option but to confirm the story.
Our correspondent said the timing was awkward, coming after the UK condemned Iran's plan to extend its nuclear programme.
The government feared Iran might see the detention as an opportunity for "extra leverage" in relation to the nuclear dispute, she added.
Mr Miliband said: "FCO officials immediately contacted the Iranian authorities in London and in Tehran on the evening of 25 November, both to seek clarification and to try and resolve the matter swiftly.
"Our ambassador in Tehran has raised the issue with the Iranian foreign ministry and we have discussed the matter with the Iranian embassy in London," he said.
[B]Stand-off[/B]
The 360-nautical mile Dubai-Muscat Offshore Sailing Race began on 26 November and ended two days later in the Omani capital's Bandar Al-Rawdah marina.
Sail Bahrain was recently launched by yachting company Team Pindar.
In a statement, the firm confirmed Kingdom of Bahrain was stopped by Iranian navy vessels, as it headed to the start of the race.
It added: "The boat may have strayed inadvertently into Iranian waters. The five crew members, all British nationals, are still in Iran."
Mr Smith took a degree in Ocean Science and Marine Navigation at the University of Plymouth.
He sailed on the university's 1st Team was later part of a team which came third in the Racing Division of the ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers).
In March 2007 there was a prolonged stand-off between the UK and Iran after a 15-strong Royal Navy crew was detained by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
The Iranians accused the crew of straying into its waters, but the British said they were in Iraqi territory.
They were pardoned and released nearly two weeks later by President Ahmadinejad.
In 2004, eight British servicemen were held in Iran after being seized in the Shatt al-Arab waterway, where they were training the Iraqi river patrol service.
In both instances, the crews were paraded on television by the Iranian authorities and Bridget Kendall said British diplomats are worried it might happen again in the latest case. [/release]
[url="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8387469.stm"]Source[/url]
Iran being the paranoid dicks they are. Next thing they're going to be demanding $500 billion dollars and claiming they were sent to spy.
Iran was probably like "Oh shit a british yacht they must be invadeing with a 5 man army!"
iranians pulled a bad paul revere
"oh fuck the british are coming on a drifting boat"
Well, I guess we can see Britain and Iran's peaceful relationship sailing off into the distance.
The Yachts were actually loaded with bombs and were meant to take out Iranian ports and silos near the coast.
:tinfoil:
Iran should get some Yaz or something. Relieve it's special time of the month
They have good reason. They shouldn't have been sailing in their waters.
Iran have been watching too much South Park and got worried that this was about to happen:
[img]http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/southpark/images/6/68/1104_british_ships.jpg[/img]
Didn't the same thing happen with an American ship a year ago or something?
Yea, ships have a tendency to stray too close. The American boat had a scuffle, but I recall two years ago a British naval ship sailed too close and the troops on it got taken under custody for a while.
Though these Brits are now joining the three American hikers taken back in the summer, and Iran might use them as leverage in their atomic negotiations.
[QUOTE=gamefreek76;18671812]They have good reason. They shouldn't have been sailing in their waters.[/QUOTE]
[I]If[/I] you read the article you'd know that they were having propeller problems and the gulf is not all that wide.
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