Bridgeton incident
Maritime incident in the Persian Gulf in July 1987 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Bridgeton incident was the mining of the supertanker SS Bridgeton by Iranian IRGC navy near Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf on July 24, 1987.[1][2] The ship was sailing in the first convoy of Operation Earnest Will, the U.S. response to Kuwaiti requests to protect its tankers from attack amid the Iran–Iraq War.[3]
Bridgeton incident | |
---|---|
Part of the Tanker War | |
Type | Naval mining |
Location | 13 miles west of Farsi Island, Persian Gulf 27°58′N 49°50′E |
Target | the US-escorted convoy |
Date | 24 July 1987 |
Executed by | IRGC Navy base in Farsi Island |
Outcome | A mine successfully hit the escorted tanker |
The explosion of an Iranian mine in the Gulf's shipping channel damaged Bridgeton's outer hull but did not prevent it from completing its voyage.[4] Nevertheless, the incident was a propaganda victory for Iran.[5] The captain of the ship complained about the information given to the press, by United States politicians following a meeting with President Reagan, and the fact that four warships and a carrier group could not prevent Iran from placing a small minefield in the supposedly secret, but compromised, route of the tanker.[6]