US strike targets Ocean Molica’s propulsion in Gulf of Oman
US Central Command says a fighter jet struck the propulsion of the Panama-flagged cargo vessel Ocean Molica in the Gulf of Oman. The command alleges the ship left an Iranian port and attempted to pass the naval blockade despite repeated warnings. The intervention took place on 10 October. The crew’s condition and the disabling of propulsion rest on the US military’s account.
Geopolitics··Evening
US fighter jet targets the cargo ship’s stern
US Central Command, CENTCOM, which directs US military operations in the region, says it intervened against the cargo ship Ocean Molica in the Gulf of Oman on 10 October. The Panama-flagged commercial vessel is also known as Arika Sun. According to the command, a fighter jet struck the ship’s stern with a precision munition and completely disabled its propulsion system.[1], [2]
The command said the crew was unharmed. The disabling of the vessel and the crew’s condition have not been independently verified. The statement identifies the propulsion system at the stern as the target of the intervention. It does not describe the cargo or the details of the commercial voyage.[1]
Command links the intervention to the blockade of Iranian ports
CENTCOM alleges that Ocean Molica had left an Iranian port and ignored repeated US warnings while sailing through regional waters. It presents an attempt to pass the naval blockade against Iran as the reason for the intervention. The statement did not name the Iranian port from which the vessel departed. The allegation that warnings were ignored also remains the command’s account.[1], [2]
Washington resumed its blockade of vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports on 14 July. The command says it disabled four commercial vessels and turned back 135 ships during three months of enforcement. These figures cover military actions over a longer period than the latest intervention against one vessel.[1]
The command’s statement on the blockade period also reports the destruction of ten tankers it alleges were linked to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, one of the Iranian state’s armed security institutions. The claim that the tankers belonged to the organisation’s shadow shipping network comes from the US military. CENTCOM distinguishes the destruction of ten tankers from its separate total of four disabled commercial vessels. The blockade covers both arrivals at Iranian ports and departures from them.[1], [2]
Naval forces renew their call for contact with commercial ships
The US command urged mariners in the Gulf of Oman and near the Strait of Hormuz to heed blockade warnings, monitor maritime notices and maintain contact with US naval forces. The command had previously claimed that it and regional partners controlled the strait; Iran has made its own assertions of dominance. The parties’ assertions of control do not offer an independently verified assurance of safe passage.[1]
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard threatened on Friday to impose sanctions on shipping companies complying with US instructions. It also warned of action against vessels using routes Iran considered unauthorised. That warning came during the blockade, with Iranian and US instructions directed at ships using the same regional waters.[2]
