US Central Command Targets Oil Tanker in Gulf of Oman

US Central Command "CENTCOM" announced that its forces targeted and disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman on October 10, after the ship's crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to breach the current naval blockade imposed on Iran.

According to CENTCOM's publication, a US fighter jet recently targeted the stern of the Ocean Molika (also known as "Arika Sun"), which flies the Panamanian flag, with precision-guided munitions, resulting in the complete disablement of the ship's propulsion system without harming the crew.

US Central Command forces had resumed enforcing the US blockade on all vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports on July 14, during which four commercial ships were disabled and another 135 were forced to change course and turn back within three months of strict blockade enforcement.

In addition, US forces destroyed ten tankers linked to the secret network of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, valued at billions of dollars, during the same period.

All mariners are required to comply with blockade warnings issued by US Central Command forces, while crews should continue monitoring the broadcast of "Notices to Mariners" and communicate with US naval forces via Channel 16 for direct ship-to-ship communication when navigating in the Gulf of Oman and the entrances to the Strait of Hormuz.