US ship fires on boat off Dubai, 1 dead

An American vessel fired on a boat off the coast of the United Arab Emirates today, killing one person and injuring three, according to a U.S. consular official in Dubai.

The official gave no other details, but it appeared the boat could have been mistaken as a threat in Gulf waters not far from Iran’s maritime boundaries.

Dozens of police and other Emirati officials crowded around the white-hulled boat, which sat docked after the incident in a small Dubai port used by fishermen and sailors.

The boat appeared to be a civilian vessel about 30 feet (9 meters) long and powered by three outboard motors. Similar boats are used for fishing in the region, though Iran’s Revolutionary Guard also employs relatively small, fast-moving craft in the Gulf.

Rescue workers were seen carrying one person in a body bag off the boat and placing it in an ambulance as fishermen looked on. Officials moved the boat from the harbor shortly afterward.

An Emirati rescue official at the scene confirmed the casualty toll. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the incident between the two allies.

U.S. military vessels routinely cross paths with Iranian ships in international waters in the Gulf without incident, but speed boats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard have passed close to U.S. ships in incidents that have raised alarm in Washington.

In early 2008, then President Bush accused Iran of a "provocative act" after five small Iranian craft buzzed around the destroyer USS Hopper.

Tensions are elevated in the Gulf after Iran last week renewed threats to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz - the route for one-fifth of the world’s oil - in retaliation for tighter sanctions over Tehran’s nuclear program. The U.S. recently boosted its naval presence in the Gulf with additional minesweepers and other warships.

The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet, based in Bahrain, said it was investigating the Monday shooting. The U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi had no immediate comment, referring all questions to the Navy.

Emirati officials could not be reached for comment.

Badly parked submarine on JBR beach attracts fine

As far as parking offences go, police in Dubai thought they had seen it all. Until they ticketed a submarine.

Two Emirati officers on patrol near Jumeirah Beach Residence found a two-man vessel seemingly abandoned on the beach in April after its owner became tired from hauling it out of the water, the Dubai Misdemeanour Court heard yesterday.

They tracked the vessel to a 34-year-old Turkish marketing manager KB who told them he was taking it for a test-dive after buying it from a ship manufacturing company.

The manager said he first enquired about the white submarine after finding it dumped in a factory in Al Quoz in September 2011. The vessel was said to have been abandoned by a British manager in the ship manufacturing company seven years ago and was old and damaged.

"I asked if it was for sale and they agreed to sell it to me after maintenance for Dh35,000," said the manager.

He transported the vessel, which is built from fibreglass and weighs 567kg, to the beach on the back of his pick-up truck before lowering it onto the beach and pulling it into the water for the test dive.

The vessel, which can reach speeds of up to 5mph, is designed to dive to 130ft, but the manager said that after a 30-minute dive he noticed it was leaking and returned to shore.

He became exhausted pulling the submarine up the beach and decided to leave it. "I was tired and took the battery with me so no one can use it, and after couple of days I received a call asking me to come to the police station," he said.

The officers charged him with illegally cruising in Dubai waters in an unregistered submarine.

The man's lawyer said that he had planned to register the submarine, but needed to check it worked first.

The judge fined him Dh1,000.