The World : Iran Attacks Dutch Ship

Iran launched its first attack of the year on a ship in the Persian Gulf, wounding two crewmen aboard the 35,731-ton, Dutch-owned Petrobulk Pioneer. The vessel’s crew members said an Iranian gunship radioed “happy voyage” to the tanker, then fired on it for an hour with machine guns, cannon and rocked-propelled grenades. The dawn assault, which shipping officials said was carried out in territorial waters of the United Arab Emirates, apparently was made in retaliation for this week’s Iraqi raids on Iranian oil traffic that broke a nine-day period of calm in the gulf.