Warned to Clear Out, Then Hit: US Says It Disabled Ship
Central Command said the vessel tried repeatedly to breach its blockade of Iran and that the crew was told to leave targeted spaces before the strike. The account has not been independently confirmed.
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by Sami Haddad
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The US military said it disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on November 7, bringing its blockade of Iran directly to bear on a civilian vessel.
US Central Command said the St. Kitts-flagged ship had visited an Iranian port and was attempting to leave regional waters. Its civilian crew ignored repeated warnings and tried multiple times to violate the blockade, according to the command. The flag identifies the country whose registry the ship sails under, not necessarily the nationality of its owners or crew.
US forces directed the crew to leave the spaces they intended to target before an aircraft fired precision munitions at the ship's stern, Central Command said. The military described the vessel as disabled.
The encounter puts commercial shipping at the centre of Washington's effort to restrict Iran's trade. The Gulf of Oman connects to the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for oil and other maritime cargo. A blockade enforced there reaches into the approaches to one of the world's most consequential shipping routes.
The strike has not been independently confirmed. The crew's condition, the extent of the damage and the ship's subsequent location are unknown, as are its cargo, ownership and precise route. No response from Iran or St. Kitts has been reported so far.
