10:41 GMT, January 28, 2012 MOSCOW | The Pentagon is going to send a large floating base to the Middle East, The Washington Post said.

The plan comes amid rising tensions with Iran, al Qaeda in Yemen and Somali pirates.

The USS Ponce, an amphibious transport docking ship that was scheduled to be decommissioned, will be retrofitted as a makeshift staging base for Navy SEALs, the paper said.

Navy officials told the Post the service is rushing to complete the retrofit and wants the Ponce in place by summer. (RIA Novosti)