US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Saturday that American forces struck a commercial ship in the Gulf of Oman. Its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings. It made several attempts to breach the naval blockade against Iran.
According to CENTCOM, a US military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of the M/V Huda. It was flying the flag of Saint Kitts and Nevis. This disabled it, after command forces instructed the crew to abandon the targeted areas.
The cargo ship had attempted to leave regional waters after visiting an Iranian port, according to the CENTCOM statement. It added that it would continue to rigorously enforce the blockade against Iran. The US military also said that since July its forces have redirected 147 commercial ships that complied with the blockade.
Meanwhile, five commercial ships that refused to comply have been disabled. In addition, CENTCOM said it had previously destroyed 10 other Iranian commercial oil tankers. According to it, they were part of a multibillion-dollar shadow network of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency announced late on Saturday that it had received a report of an incident. It involved a cargo carrier and military forces in the Gulf of Oman, about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan, on the eastern coast of the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, the National Guard of the United Arab Emirates announced early on Sunday that 22 people had been rescued from a cargo ship in the Persian Gulf. So far no casualties have been reported from the strike on the M/V Huda. The circumstances of the incident involving the cargo carrier remain unclear.
US authorities have not provided further details about the condition of the civilian crew of the disabled ship. UKMTO and the National Guard of the United Arab Emirates have not published further information about the identity of the ships or the nationality of the rescued people. The naval blockade against Iran, enforced by US forces, has so far led to the redirection of dozens of commercial ships and the disabling of some of those that refused to obey orders, according to official CENTCOM data.
This latest incident in the Gulf of Oman adds to a series of maritime clashes in the region, in which US forces have taken action against ships linked to Iran. US Central Command has not said whether there will be further investigation into the M/V Huda case. It emphasized that it will continue enforcing the blockade with the same rigor.