us forces disable iranian vessel in the Gulf of Oman on Wednesday, when a US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet fired several rounds from its 20 mm cannon into the rudder of the Iranian-flagged tanker M/T Hasna. US Central Command said the ship was no longer transiting to Iran after the strike.
M/T Hasna in the Gulf of Oman
CENTCOM said it observed the unladen tanker as it transited international waters en route to an Iranian port on the Gulf of Oman and that the vessel “failed to comply” with repeated US military warnings. The tanker’s rudder was disabled from the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln, adding a second disabled Iranian commercial vessel to the US campaign around Iranian maritime traffic.
The action fits a pattern that began last month, when the USS Spruance intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo ship M/V Touska in the Arabian Sea. The destroyer fired nine inert rounds from its 5-inch deck gun into the engine room after the vessel, sailing toward Iran at 17 knots, ignored several warnings and was then boarded by Marines.
US blockade of Iran
CENTCOM said the blockade of Iran’s ports “remains in full effect.” That line leaves the immediate operating rule unchanged for ships heading toward Iranian ports: the US military says it will keep stopping vessels it judges to be moving in violation of the blockade, even as the more recent effort has shifted toward securing maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz under Project Freedom.
US military vessels have been working in recent days to clear a path through the strait and establish a defensive umbrella for commercial ships, while Iran has fired drones and missiles at US ships and military vessels in the area. The US has responded with force, including using helicopters to sink Iranian small boats.
Project Freedom and Trump
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that “Project Freedom” has been paused as Washington and Tehran discuss a potential deal. For ship operators, the practical point is the same: the blockade remains active, the US Navy has already disabled two Iranian commercial vessels, and any voyage toward Iranian ports now carries the risk of interception before it reaches Iranian waters.
