The organisers of the Volvo Ocean Race breathed a sigh of relief when all five boats were safely on board a freighter after the finish of the first leg of the second stage, which is to transfer them to the Persian Gulf, from where they would then have to sail to the official final destination in Abu Dhabi. The drop-off point is supposed to be somewhere off the Sharjah coast in the north-east of the United Arab Emirates. At least that is the plan, but there are dark clouds on the horizon.
Before the boats can be put back into the water, they have to be transported through the Strait of Hormuz, the bottleneck between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran, which is strategically extremely important for global oil supplies. In the dispute over tougher sanctions against Iran and its nuclear programme, this strait is becoming a bargaining chip. US President Obama is expected to sign a bill that aims to cut Iran off from the international oil business in order to deprive the country of its most important source of income and persuade it to give in in the nuclear dispute. However, Iran, the world's third-largest energy exporter, is threatening to take countermeasures.
"Closing the Strait of Hormuz is easier than drinking a glass of water," said Iranian Admiral Habibollah Sayari in an interview with the English-language broadcaster Press TV. "At the moment, we don't need to close it because we have the Gulf of Oman under control and therefore also the transit." Sayari is currently leading a ten-day exercise by Iranian naval units in the Strait of Hormuz. This is bad news for oil consumers, who will have to pay higher prices, as more than a third of the oil transported by tankers worldwide, which comes from Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has to pass through this strait. But the Volvo Ocean Race will hardly remain unaffected if the situation escalates.
"Anyone who threatens the free passage of an international waterway is clearly outside the international community," said the command of the US 5th Fleet, which is stationed in Bahrain. "No interference of any kind will be tolerated." It is not known whether the US Navy would also provide escorts for the transport of the Volvo fleet. The organisers have not yet responded to YACHT's enquiries in this regard. But the sailors are having second thoughts: "This is the real world," said Puma skipper Ken Read, for example. "As crazy as it is, and believe me, it seems very crazy to all sailors, it's hard to believe we're not sailing on. But sometimes the reality of our little regatta gets in the way. You have to adapt to it and take the necessary measures. It's all crazy, but that's life."
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