US forces disable ship ‘attempting to run’ Iran blockade in Gulf of Oman

US subject pitchy strikes stern of commercialized cargo vessel successful the Gulf of Oman ‘without harming the crew’, CENTCOM says.

United States forces person disabled a commercialized cargo vas successful the Gulf of Oman aft its unit “ignored repeated warnings and attempted to tally the ongoing naval blockade against Iran”, according to Central Command (CENTCOM).

A US subject combatant pitchy struck the stern of the Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica, besides known arsenic the Arika Sun, with a precision munition connected Saturday, “fully disabling the ship’s propulsion without harming the crew”, CENTCOM said successful a statement. The vas was attempting to transit determination waters aft “having antecedently departed an Iranian port”.

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CENTCOM said its forces resumed their blockade against each ships “entering oregon departing Iranian ports connected July 14”, disabling 4 commercialized vessels and turning astir 135 ships during “three months of strict enforcement”.

US forces besides destroyed 10 tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC’s) “multibillion-dollar shadiness network” implicit the aforesaid period, CENTCOM said.

US Senator Chris Murphy questioned the subject strike, penning connected X: “What is this each for? Why are taxpayers paying billions to deed commercialized ships?”

“Apparently the extremity is to summation leverage successful bid to person the Iranians to fto america wage them billions to instrumentality everything to the mode it each was earlier the war,” the Democratic person added. “What a disaster.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s IRGC said it struck a vas successful the Strait of Hormuz for attempting to instrumentality an “illegal route”, arsenic Tehran seeks to enforce its ain blockade connected the captious waterway.

In a connection carried by authoritative Iranian media, the IRGC claimed Iranian forces “have taken power of the medication of the strait”.

“In carrying retired this mission, a fewer hours ago, a elephantine LPG bearer named NV Sunshine, owned by NatWit, which was attempting to transit via the amerciable way southbound of the Strait of Hormuz, was struck,” the connection said.

Vessels successful the Strait of Hormuz adjacent the formation of Bandar Abbas, Iran, October 6, 2026 [Amirhosein Khorgooi/ISNA via WANA/Reuters]

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) bureau said connected Sunday that an outbound tanker successful the strait was struck connected the larboard broadside by an chartless projectile, causing a occurrence connected board. The UK bureau said unit members were reported safe, portion the harm and biology interaction remained chartless astatine the clip of the report.

Tehran has attempted to enforce power implicit the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israel warfare connected Iran, insisting that ships get support to transverse via its preferred routes. However, vessels person progressively risked taking an alternate way hugging the strait’s confederate coast.

The UKMTO said connected Thursday that a vas sailing 94km (58 miles) northbound of Madinat ash Shamal, disconnected the northbound seashore of Qatar, was struck by aggregate projectiles, resulting successful respective casualties.

The bureau did not specify the root of the vessel oregon the fig of radical killed oregon injured, adding that authorities were investigating the incidental amid a caller emergence successful attacks connected vessels adjacent the Strait of Hormuz.

Ships successful the Gulf attempting to transverse the strait, which is the sole maritime way successful oregon retired of the oil-rich region, person faced repeated attacks since the US and Israel began the warfare successful precocious February.

The Strait of Hormuz remains captious to the planetary economy, with astir a 5th of the world’s lipid and liquefied earthy state passing done the transition earlier the warfare began.