A US military aircraft immobilized a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, about 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan in the United Arab Emirates. The incident was initially reported by the British maritime trade operations service UKMTO, which did not identify the ship or the country of the military forces involved.
Later, US Central Command said the vessel was the M/V Huda - a Saint Kitts and Nevis-flagged ship that had visited an Iranian port. According to the US side, the civilian crew had „ignored repeated warnings and repeatedly attempted to breach the naval blockade“ of Iran. A US aircraft struck the stern with precision-guided munitions after the crew had been directed to leave the designated target areas.
US authorities have not publicly reported any casualties. UKMTO said that at the time of its initial report, there was no confirmed information about the condition of the crew, the damage caused or any possible impact on the environment.
Iran reports two tankers striking mines
Separately, the naval forces of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said that two oil tankers had struck sea mines near the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire. According to the Iranian version, one vessel was east of the strait, while the second was in the strait itself.
Iranian forces claim that the two tankers had switched off their navigation and positioning systems and attempted to pass along a route designated by Tehran as unauthorized. These claims were reported by the Tasnim news agency and have not been independently confirmed. The names, flags or destinations of the tankers were not disclosed.
The incidents are unfolding amid heightened military tensions around the Strait of Hormuz - a key maritime route for transporting oil and other cargo. So far, no confirmed connection has been established between the incident involving the M/V Huda and the reports concerning the two tankers, apart from the fact that they occurred in the same maritime area and during a period of increased risk for commercial shipping.
Sources: apnews.com, aa.com.tr