Russian ship ‘aggressively approached’ U.S. vessel in North Arabian Sea

A Russian war ship “aggressively approached” a U.S. Navy vessel in the North Arabian Sea on Thursday, reportedly coming within 180 feet of the American craft and narrowly avoiding a collision, U.S. military officials said Friday.

On Thursday, Jan. 9, while conducting routine operations in the North Arabian Sea, USS Farragut (DDG 99) was aggressively approached by a Russian Navy ship. pic.twitter.com/SCVyTINNqe

— U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 10, 2020

Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of a collision, and requested the Russian ship alter course in accordance with international rules of the road. pic.twitter.com/OGCeAGKOy3

— U.S. 5th Fleet (@US5thFleet) January 10, 2020

In a statement, the Navy’s Fifth Fleet said that the Russian ship initially refused to change course. A dramatic video posted to the Fifth Fleet’s Twitter account shows the two ships dangerously close to one another in another example of what military officials say is Russia’s aggressive and reckless behavior at sea.

“On Thursday, Jan. 9, while conducting routine operations in the North Arabian Sea, USS Farragut (DDG 99) was aggressively approached by a Russian Navy ship,” the Fifth Fleet said in its statement. “Farragut sounded five short blasts, the international maritime signal for danger of a collision, and requested the Russian ship alter course in accordance with international rules of the road. The Russian ship initially refused but ultimately altered course and the two ships opened distance from one another.”

“While the Russian ship took action, the initial delay in complying with international rules while it was making an aggressive approach increased the risk of collision,” the statement continued. “The U.S. Navy continues to remain vigilant and is trained to act in a professional manner.”

The Navy did not say exactly how close the ships came to one another, but CNN reported that they came as close as 180 feet.

Last year, the U.S. military blamed Russia for numerous dangerous encounters both at sea and in the air. Last June, for example, U.S. and Russian war ships nearly collided in the East China Sea, and both countries blamed each other for the incident..