[4] On January 12, 2016, two United States Navy riverine command boats (RCBs) cruising from Kuwait to Bahrain with a combined crew of nine men and one woman on board strayed into Iranian territorial waters[5] which extend three nautical miles around Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf.

[citation needed] According to military sources, the two RCBs were on a routine transit from Kuwait to Bahrain, which serves as the home port for Task Force 56 under the Fifth Fleet.

They left Kuwait at 12:23 p.m local time and were scheduled to refuel with the U.S. Coast Guard Island-class patrol cutter USCGC Monomoy at 5 p.m. During the transit one RCB developed an engine problem, and both boats stopped to solve the mechanical issue.

The sailors had a brief verbal exchange with the Iranian military[7] and were released unharmed along with all their equipment [10] the next day on January 13 after 15 hours,[4] and they departed the island at 08:43 GMT on their boats.

[13][14] According to the Fars News Agency on January 26, "the American ships were 'snooping' around in Iranian waters," on the basis of the sailors' GPS data collected by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Navy.

[citation needed] On January 29 Fars News Agency stated "it was proved that the US marines had strayed into Iranian waters only due to the failure of their navigation devices and equipment.

"[15] U.S. Central Command stated, "A post-recovery inventory of the boats found that all weapons, ammunition and communication gear are accounted for minus two SIM cards that appear to have been removed from two handheld satellite phones.

According to Politico, these pictures and footage further "inflam[ed] the American debate over [the sailors'] capture, including the question of whether the U.S. had formally apologized for entering Iranian territory."