U.S. Navy Commander Says Major Middle East Shipping Routes Secure Despite Turmoil

ABU DHABI, Feb 23 (Reuters) – Shipping corridors utilized by Gulf power exporters will not be in danger from violence and political volatility in Yemen and the seizure of swathes of territory within the area by Islamic State militants, a senior U.S. naval officer mentioned on Monday.

Vice Admiral John Miller, Commander of U.S. Naval Central Command, instructed a convention in Abu Dhabi {that a} “robust” U.S. and worldwide maritime presence was serving to to minimise threats to oil-producing international locations within the area.

“As dynamic as the region is today, what we have seen over the past years is the maritime atmosphere has been safe, the free flow of commerce has been stable and secure,” mentioned Miller, additionally Commander of U.S. fifth Fleet/Combined Maritime Forces.

He was referring to the Bab el Mandab, a slender channel between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, the Suez Canal, one of many world’s busiest waterways which connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea, and the Strait of Hormuz between Iran and Oman, the world’s most necessary oil export route.

Miller mentioned mixed maritime forces – worldwide naval coalitions based mostly in Bahrain that collectively stage safety patrols in opposition to militancy, piracy and smuggling – which he mentioned operated 65 to 70 vessels on any given day, had been ample.

“An organisation like ISIL (Islamic State) is capable of surprising us … so we want to work hard to eliminate that opportunity for surprise and we do that through a robust presence in the maritime environment,” Miller mentioned.

“In the Suez Canal what we’ve seen consistently despite unrest that has occurred in Egypt … (is) a Suez canal that is secure and properly administered,” he mentioned.

However, he described occasions in Yemen, the place the Houthi armed group changed the federal government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi in January, as “a very dynamic situation”.

“Instability in Yemen is something that has the potential to lead to instability in the strait of Bab el Mandab in the Gulf of Aden in the southern part of the Red Sea, all of which is cause for concern,” he mentioned.

The United States and its allies recurrently stage naval workout routines within the Gulf, saying they need to guarantee freedom of navigation. (Reporting by Maha El Dahan; Editing by William Maclean and Louise Ireland)