Two of the US Navy’s main ships for clearing mines in the Strait of Hormuz were recently spotted in Malaysia, about 3,500 miles from their base in Bahrain.
The USS Tulsa and USS Santa Barbara were photographed by a ship spotter in Penang, who posted images on Sunday of the two littoral combat ships docked at the North Butterworth Container Terminal.
It’s unclear why the ships are so far from the Middle East, where they typically operate under the US Navy’s Fifth Fleet.
The Independence-class vessels are two of the fleet’s three littoral combat ships equipped with counter-mine modules. The third ship, the USS Canberra, was last reported by the Navy to be sailing in the Arabian Gulf in mid-January.
US Central Command and Indo-Pacific Command did not respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours. When contacted, the Pentagon directed Business Insider to Indo-Pacific Command.
The three ships are meant to be the primary US vessels deployed to find and destroy mines in the Persian Gulf region. As littoral combat ships, they’re not dedicated minesweepers but carry anti-mine tech, such as underwater drones, towed sonars, and helicopters for detecting and neutralizing such explosives.
Since the US and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury on February 28, Iran has attempted to close the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway servicing transport about a fifth of the world’s oil trade.
Over a dozen attacks on commercial ships have halted traffic in the strait, and resuming transit is now a major priority for the US and its allies as oil prices soared in the last two weeks.
The Defense Intelligence Agency estimates that Iran has over 5,000 mines, including explosives that lie on the seabed, drift on the surface, or are moored to float in place.
Should Tehran deploy enough of them successfully, clearing the strait would require a meticulous and dangerous process of sweeping the shipping lane. That could delay a reopening for weeks, or even longer.
There are signs that Iran is trying to roll out its arsenal. Last week, the US said it had destroyed 16 small boats used as minelaying ships near the Strait of Hormuz.
CNN also reported on Wednesday that sources familiar with US intelligence said Iran had deployed several dozen mines already.
President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social on Saturday, calling for countries such as China, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK to help protect or free up the lane. On Sunday, the UK’s energy minister, Ed Miliband, said his country might consider sending mine-hunting drones to assist.
Japan and Australia, meanwhile, said on Monday that they were not actively considering sending military assets to the strait.
The US previously had four Avenger-class minesweeping vessels to service the strait, but decommissioned them last year.
The USS Tulsa, USS Santa Barbara, and USS Canberra are meant to take over the responsibility in the strait, though critics say their counter-mine modules are unproven in combat and that their larger size could make it harder to navigate mined waters.
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