U.S. Marines are holding an Iranian-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman after a Navy guided missile destroyer disabled the vessel by firing into its engine room when the crew refused orders to stop, President Trump announced Sunday.
Trump said the ship, the Touska — described as nearly 900 feet long and roughly the weight of an aircraft carrier — attempted to pass through a U.S. naval blockade. The guided missile destroyer USS Spruance intercepted it and issued a warning to halt. When the crew did not comply, the Spruance put a hole in the engine room.
“Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon.
He said the ship is under U.S. Treasury sanctions due to what he described as “prior history of illegal activity,” and that American forces had begun searching the vessel. “We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!” Trump wrote.
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said American forces issued multiple warnings and told the Touska’s crew the vessel was in violation of the U.S. blockade.
After the crew failed to comply over a six-hour period, the Spruance first ordered those on board to evacuate the engine room. It then fired several rounds from its 5-inch MK 45 deck gun to disable the ship’s propulsion, CENTCOM said.
Treasury records show the Touska was placed on the Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions list in November 2018. The vessel is flagged to Iran and is subject to secondary sanctions, according to the OFAC database.
This was the second time the Spruance played a visible role in the blockade. U.S. Central Command said Wednesday the same destroyer had redirected a different Iranian-flagged vessel after it left the Strait of Hormuz and moved along the Iranian coastline. That ship turned back toward Iran, CENTCOM said.
Sunday’s boarding was one of ten Iranian vessel interceptions since the blockade began, CENTCOM said.
Tehran had not publicly responded by Sunday afternoon.
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