A US military fighter jet struck the stern of the Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica, also known as the Arika Sun, in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday, disabling its propulsion system without harming its crew. US Central Command said the crew had ignored repeated warnings and attempted to transit regional waters after leaving an Iranian port.
The strike came as the United States enforced a blockade covering ships entering or departing Iranian ports. The blockade resumed on July 14, and Central Command said four commercial vessels had been disabled while 135 ships were turned around during three months of enforcement. It also said US forces destroyed 10 tankers linked to an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps oil network during that period.
US Senator Chris Murphy questioned the action, asking why taxpayers were paying billions to strike commercial ships.
The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency said it was investigating a separate report involving a tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman. In the Strait of Hormuz, the agency said an outbound tanker was struck on its port side by an unknown projectile and caught fire; the crew was reported safe, while the damage and environmental impact were still being assessed.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps separately said it had struck the LPG carrier NV Sunshine, owned by NatWit, after the vessel attempted to use what Iran called an illegal route south of the Strait of Hormuz. The group also claimed Iranian forces had taken control of administering the strait.
The competing restrictions have forced ships to weigh routes designated by either side against alternative passages along the strait’s southern coast. The waterway is the region’s sole maritime route in or out of the Gulf, and about one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through it before the war began.