USS Spruance Disables Propulsion of Iranian-Flagged Cargo Vessel Touska in North Arabian Sea
U.S. forces issued multiple warnings and informed the crew it was violating the U.S. blockade.
MIDDLE EAST — U.S. Central Command stated that U.S. forces operating in the Arabian Sea “enforced naval blockade measures against an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port” on April 19. CENTCOM identified the vessel as M/V Touska and its destination as Bandar Abbas.
According to the CENTCOM release, guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) “intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at 17 knots enroute to Bandar Abbas, Iran.”
CENTCOM stated, “American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade.”
The CENTCOM statement added, “After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room. Spruance disabled Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room.
U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the non-compliant vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.”
Trump said the crew “refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom.”
CENTCOM’s release describes “repeated warnings” over a six-hour period. Trump’s post uses the phrase “fair warning” without describing the warning sequence.
CENTCOM stated that “American forces acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance.”
The release further stated that “since the blockade’s commencement, U.S. forces have directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port.”
Vessel and Sanctions Context
 | A guest post by
|