US strike disables cargo ship in Gulf of Oman over Iran blockade
A US military aircraft disabled the St Kitts and Nevis-flagged M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman after its crew allegedly ignored warnings and tried to breach the US naval blockade of Iran.
- A US military strike has disabled a commercial cargo vessel, the M/V Huda, in the Gulf of Oman.
- The action was taken after the ship allegedly ignored warnings and attempted to breach the US naval blockade of Iran.
- US Central Command stated the crew was warned to move to a safe area before precision munitions were used to strike the vessel's stern.
- This is the fifth merchant ship to be disabled for non-compliance with the blockade since July as part of a wider US enforcement action.
US forces struck and disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday (November 7) after its civilian crew allegedly ignored repeated warnings and made several attempts to breach the US naval blockade of Iran.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) reported that an American military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of the M/V Huda, a St Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo ship. The strike left the vessel unable to continue its voyage.
According to CENTCOM, US forces had instructed the crew to leave the areas of the ship targeted in the operation before the strike.
The vessel was attempting to leave regional waters after calling at an Iranian port, the command reported.
CENTCOM reported that, since July, US forces had redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied with blockade instructions and disabled five merchant ships that refused to comply.
The command added that US forces had previously destroyed 10 Iranian commercial oil tankers, describing them as part of a multibillion-dollar shadow shipping network run by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
