Who Is Rocking the Boats?

Were the explosions caused by mines? If so, who laid them and why? No one is saying. What is known, however, is that at least nine merchant vessels of different national registries, including at least one Soviet ship, have been rocked at sea by mysterious blasts since early July. According to Lloyd's Shipping Intelligence, an arm of Lloyd's of London, the hazardous zones appear to be at the northern and southern ends of the Red Sea. One Dutch captain reported that his cargo ship was "mixed up in a minefield" off the coast of North Yemen, as reported by Lloyd's.

An unconfirmed report broadcast last week by the clandestine Radio Free Lebanon claimed that a group called the Islamic Jihad Movement had planted 190 mines in the Gulf of Suez. In Washington, one perplexed Pentagon official summed up the confusion when he declared, "Until we know what it is, we won't know how to deal with it."

Egyptian Prime Minister Kamal Hassan Ali said in Cairo that his government is investigating the explosions. Last week a 15-man American technical team arrived in the area to assist in the Egyptian probe. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has issued a "notice to mariners" as a precautionary measure.