US forces disabled the St. Kitts-flagged M/V Huda in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday after the crew ignored repeated warnings, CENTCOM said. The vessel had tried to depart regional waters after visiting an Iranian port, and Donald Trump later said US forces had targeted it.
CENTCOM said a US military aircraft fired precision munitions at the stern of the vessel after forces directed the crew to abandon targeted spaces. CENTCOM also said it was continuing to strictly enforce the blockade against Iran, a posture that has shaped every move through this waterway since July.
CENTCOM counts 147 vessels
Since July, CENTCOM said US forces had redirected 147 commercial vessels that complied with the blockade and disabled five merchant ships that refused. CENTCOM also said it had previously destroyed another 10 Iranian commercial oil tankers that were part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps’ multibillion-dollar shadow network.
That makes the M/V Huda part of a wider enforcement pattern rather than a single isolated stop. For crews moving through the Gulf of Oman, the practical issue is whether a ship follows a warning immediately or risks becoming one of the vessels disabled after repeated noncompliance.
UKMTO and the UAE National Guard
UKMTO said late on Saturday that it had received a report of an incident involving a bulk carrier and military forces in the Gulf of Oman, around 18 nautical miles east of Khor Fakkan on the east coast of the United Arab Emirates. Early on Sunday, the UAE National Guard said 22 people had been rescued from a cargo ship in the Gulf.
The incident sits alongside a separate claim from the IRGC navy, which said two oil tankers had caught fire after hitting mines. The IRGC navy said one tanker was east of the Strait of Hormuz and the other was sailing in the strategic waterway, and said the two tankers had used an unauthorised route and switched off their navigation and positioning systems. CENTCOM’s account and the IRGC navy’s account point in different directions, leaving the status of the vessel and the 22 rescued people as the immediate issue for anyone still tied to the voyage.
Strait of Hormuz and the Gulf
On Friday night, reports emerged of explosions on Qeshm Island, and Tasnim news agency reported that two missiles had struck the area. The flare-up came as tensions between Tehran and Washington over the Strait of Hormuz had risen again in recent days after the end of the US midterm elections.
For crews, insurers and shippers moving through the Gulf of Oman, the next operational question is whether enforcement there will stay at this pace. CENTCOM says it is still enforcing the blockade, and the disabled M/V Huda now joins the list of ships caught between that campaign and the competing claims moving across the same stretch of water.
