CENTCOM Says U.S. Jet Disabled Cargo Ship in Gulf of Oman

U.S. Central Command said a U.S. fighter jet disabled a cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman on October 10 after its crew ignored warnings and attempted to breach a naval blockade of Iran. CENTCOM said the strike disabled the ship’s propulsion and did not injure anyone aboard. The vessel, the Panama-flagged MV Ocean Molica, also known as the Arika Sun, had previously departed an Iranian port, according to CENTCOM. The command said the ship was attempting to transit regional waters when the fighter jet struck its stern with a precision munition. The account of the encounter, including the alleged attempt to breach the blockade, the damage and the reported absence of injuries, comes from CENTCOM. The supplied reports do not include an independent account from the vessel or its crew. CENTCOM said U.S. forces resumed the blockade on July 14, covering ships entering or departing Iranian ports. Over the three months of enforcement cited by the command, U.S. forces had disabled four commercial vessels and turned back 135 ships. CENTCOM also said forces had destroyed 10 tankers linked to what it described as an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps shadow network during the same period.