A US warship enforcing sanctions on Iraq collided with a fishing boat in the northern Gulf but sustained no casualties or major damage, US military officials said Saturday.
Not many details were disclosed regarding the incident, and spokesmen for the US Central Command at a forward base in Qatar would not comment on reports that the civilian vessel was Iranian.
A statement issued by the Central Command said the night-time collision punched a "non-threatening hole" in the side of the destroyer USS Paul Hamilton above the waterline.
"No personnel were injured aboard the USS Paul Hamilton," the statement said, adding the destroyer was continuing on with its mission.
Officials said nobody was injured on the civilian ship, which also continued on its way. A US navy spokesman in Bahrain confirmed it was a fishing boat, according to AFP.
An investigation has been launched into the accident that took place as the Paul Hamilton, based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was conducting Maritime Interception Operations, officials said.
The operations to check merchant traffic in the Gulf are aimed at enforcing sanctions that were imposed on Iraq following its 1990 invasion of Kuwait and bar it from exporting or importing any cargo without authorization from the United Nations. (Albawaba.com)
