US military says it disabled cargo vessel trying to run Iran blockade

The US military disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman on October 10. The Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica, also known as the "Arika Sun", was struck by a US military fighter jet with a precision munition, disabling its propulsion. According to the US Central Command, the ship's crew had ignored warnings and attempted to run a naval blockade against Iran after leaving an Iranian port.

The US Central Command posted on X that the cargo vessel was fully disabled without harm to the crew. The incident occurred after the US resumed its blockade against all ships entering or departing Iranian ports on July 14. According to Middle East Eye, four commercial vessels have been disabled and 135 ships have been turned around during this time.

The US military action was taken after the ship's crew ignored repeated warnings. The incident is part of an ongoing naval blockade against Iran.

Brief written by urgent.news from Al-Monitor, Middle East Eye, Jerusalem Post — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.