A merchantman, Westward Venture has fired warning shots at a small boats, thought to be Iranian in the Persian Gulf.

The Westward Venture is reportedly under contract with the US military.

On the approach of the Iranian boats, Westward Venture first attempted to raise them by radio, then fired a pyrotechnic flare and when the boats continued to approach, the ship’s security crew opened fire with automatic small arms. It is not immediately apparent whether the gunfire was directly toward the Iranian boats.

SS Westward Venture is a 17,500 gross tonnage 744 foot long freighter launched in 1977 and registered in Tacoma (US)

According to ULS, there would be a maximum of 45 people on board.

SS Westward Venture can be tracked online in near-real-time.

It is expected that the news of this tension-increasing event in the Gulf will apply further upward pressure on oil prices.

I’m not sure why I keep stumbling across maritime stories or why they interest me so much but here are another two.

MS Van Gough, a Norwegian owned 16,000 ton 1970s cruise liner has been impounded in the port of Fuchal on the Portuguese mid-atlantic island of Madeira over an unpaid debt owed by the former owners of the ship. Unfortunately for the 400 or so passengers which left Falmouth in January on a 3 month cruise, it appears the cruise organisers, Van Gough Cruises of Cheltenham UK, are not members of ABTA - a trade body which provides financial protection for travel agent customers.

Grand Princess, a modern 106,000 ton, 2,600 passenger cruise liner, is meanwhile taking it easy on the next leg of her cruise as she has blown two turbochargers (one each on two of six engines). The blowers apparent let go as she was leaving port in Jamaica and news reports there initially suggested that Grand Princess was on fire as “thick black smoke” was seen. Grand Princess is now continuing on to her destination of Grand Cayman on three engines. Obviously, she will need repairs at the end of her current cruise.

Photo Credit: Teh tennisman cc-by-sa-3.0