Dubai Police says boat posed no threat to US Navy vessel

Did the US Navy ship that fired on a fishing vessel, killing an Indian fisherman, start firing despite there being no obvious threat to the small boat? A CNN IBN report said the Dubai police has found in its initial investigation that the fishing vessel was on a set course and did not pose any danger to the US Navy vessel USNS Rappahannock. [caption id=“attachment_382575” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  One of the Indian fishermen injured in the firing. Reuters[/caption] The US vessel had opened fire on the fishing vessel near the Jebel Ali port, south west of Dubai, on Monday and had claimed the boat had refused to acknowledge multiple attempts to get them to alter their course and warning shots that were fired. An Indian fisherman was killed and three others were wounded when the security team aboard the ship opened fire on them. Other members of the boat’s crew, which consisted of six Indians and two Emiratis, said their boat had come under fire as it returned from trawling in waters off Jebel Ali and denied that they had received any warning. All of three injured fishermen — Muthu Muniraj (28), Muthu Kannan (35) and Pandu Sanadhan (26) — are from Tamil Nadu. The US has been particularly wary of attacks on its ships since two al-Qaeda suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden boat into the USS Cole in 2000, blowing a massive hole in its side and killing 17 US sailors. The Indian government, while promising full assistance to the injured fishermen, said it will decide on the future course of action only after knowing about the inquiries being done by the UAE and the US into the US Navy ship firing incident in Dubai.