US Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after its crew "ignored repeated warnings and attempted to breach the naval blockade being enforced against Iran."
According to CENTCOM, a US military fighter jet used precision weapons to strike the stern of the Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica, also known as Arika Sun, on Saturday, "completely disabling the vessel's propulsion system without causing casualties among the crew." The ship was reportedly trying to transit the regional waters after "previously departing an Iranian port."
CENTCOM said its forces had resumed blockade operations against all vessels "entering or leaving Iranian ports as of July 14," during which they disabled four commercial ships and turned back 135 others over "three months of strict enforcement." CENTCOM also said that during the same period, US forces destroyed 10 tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) "multibillion-dollar shadow network."
For its part, Iran's IRGC said it struck a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing it of following an "illegal route," as Tehran seeks to impose its own blockade on the key shipping lane. In an announcement carried by Iranian state media, the IRGC asserted that Iranian forces "have taken control of the operation of the strait."
The statement said: "While carrying out this mission, a few hours ago, a large liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) carrier named NV Sunshine, owned by NatWit, which was trying to pass through an illegal route south of the Strait of Hormuz, was struck."
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Sunday that a tanker leaving the strait was hit on its port side by an unidentified flying object, causing a fire on board. The agency said the crew was reported safe, but the extent of damage and environmental impact had not been determined at the time of reporting.
According to UKMTO, a vessel 94 km (58 miles) north of Madinat ash Shamal, off Qatar's northern coast, had earlier been struck by multiple flying objects, causing casualties. The agency did not specify the ship's nationality or the number of dead and wounded, and said authorities were investigating amid a rise in attacks on shipping near the Strait of Hormuz.
Tehran has sought to enforce control over the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israeli war against Iran, requiring vessels to seek permission to pass along routes of Iran's choosing. However, a growing number of ships are risking alternative routes hugging the southern coast of the strait.
Vessels in the Gulf trying to transit the strait — the only shipping lane into and out of the oil-rich region — have come under repeated attack since the US and Israel launched the war in late February. The Strait of Hormuz remains critical to the global economy, with roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas having passed through the route before the fighting broke out.
