Trigger happy military and the Build up in the Persian Gulf?

Earlier this week I talked about the Canadian ships heading to the Persian Gulf as part of a commitment the conservative government made to the US lead War on Terror. This week the US military rented the container ship, Global Patriot from a company called Global Container Lines to transport something to the Persian Gulf. I'm curious what this 'something' is, as this is a fairly large container ship.























This ship was passing through the Suez Canal, on route to the Persian Gulf when it was approached by a group of small merchant boats. These boats are common, attempting to sell merchandise and food to passing ships in the canal. The Navy claims they warned the boat to stay away (in a native Arabic language), fired a flare and then warning shots. They claim they killed no one. However, Egyptian officials claim one death in the incident.

Meanwhile, Egyptian officials also claim that a US nuclear submarine and destroyer made there way through the Suez Canal in the direction of the Arabian Sea. A large portion of the US fleet is stationed in and around the Arabian Sea, this just adds to the total.

Some things to consider:

1. Some US media (LA times and Reuters) called this a "US War Ship", disinformation?
2. Does a civilian vessel have the legal right to shoot? And if so, under who's orders or what jurisdiction?
3. What kind of guns were they using? This is a container ship. I know it is under the control of the US Military, but was it a person shooting or was it a gun loaded and installed on the ship?
4. If you were in your home city, doing the job you do every day of the week and a foreign container ship told you to leave the area, would you listen? Probably not.