US forces disable cargo ship attempting to breach Iran naval blockade
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday after its crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings and attempted to breach the U.S. naval blockade against Iran.
According to CENTCOM, a U.S. fighter jet struck the stern of the Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica, also known as the Arika Sun, with a precision munition, disabling its propulsion without injuring the crew. The vessel had previously departed an Iranian port.
CENTCOM said the United States resumed its blockade of ships entering or leaving Iranian ports on July 14. Since then, U.S. forces have disabled four commercial vessels, turned around 135 ships and destroyed 10 tankers allegedly linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “shadow network.”
CENTCOM urged mariners operating in the Gulf of Oman and approaches to the Strait of Hormuz to comply with blockade warnings.
