Centcom Forces Disable Cargo Vessel Attempting to Violate Blockade

Service members operating in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman Oct. 10, after the ship's crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade against Iran.

A U.S. military fighter jet struck the stern of the Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica with a precision munition, fully crippling the ship's propulsion without harming the crew. The large cargo vessel was attempting to transit regional waters after departing an Iranian port.

The Centcom forces resumed America's blockade of all ships entering or departing Iranian ports. During three months of strict enforcement, four commercial vessels have been disabled, and 135 ships have been turned around. Additionally, U.S. forces have destroyed 10 tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' multibillion-dollar shadow network over the same period.

All mariners are advised to heed blockade warnings from Centcom forces. Crews should also continue to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16 when operating in the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz approaches.