U.S. Central Command reported that it boarded the Comoros-flagged tanker M/T Charminar in the Arabian Sea and disabled the Mozambique-flagged M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman, bringing the cumulative enforcement tally to 12 vessels diverted, 2 disabled, and 2 boarded since the naval siege on Iran was renewed. CENTCOM said the siege remains in full effect.
In its latest update, CENTCOM reported that U.S. forces boarded the Comoros-flagged tanker M/T Charminar in the Arabian Sea on July 25, verifying its compliance before allowing it to continue its voyage. On July 24, CENTCOM disabled the Mozambique-flagged M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after its crew repeatedly ignored warnings and attempted to breach the blockade. The tanker is no longer heading to Iran.
The update brings the cumulative enforcement tally to 12 vessels diverted, 2 disabled, and 2 boarded since the naval siege was renewed, according to CENTCOM. This follows a series of reports on Saturday, July 25, at 01:37 Jerusalem time. Initially, Reuters reported that the U.S. military had fired on and disabled a vessel in the Gulf of Oman. The Associated Press later reported that the vessel had attempted to breach the blockade at least four times. Shortly after, CENTCOM officially confirmed the disabling. The tally was then updated to 12 vessels attempting breach, with 2 disabled — indicating the Lavine disablement was one of them. The new CENTCOM update adds the Charminar boarding and confirms the second disablement.
The naval siege, first imposed in April, aims to prevent ship traffic to and from Iranian ports. CENTCOM has stated that the blockade remains in effect as long as no memorandum of understanding with Iran has been signed. As The Zioneer reported on July 23, the previous tally stood at 12 diverted and 1 disabled. The siege is part of broader U.S. military operations, including strikes on Iranian military infrastructure, as The Zioneer reported on July 24.
It remains unclear whether the disabled Lavine has been rendered inoperable or is still adrift, and whether the Charminar was allowed to proceed after the boarding. CENTCOM has not provided further details on the current status of either vessel.
4 developments
- StrongCENTCOM: 12 commercial vessels diverted, 1 disabled in naval siege update
- StrongCENTCOM says it has interdicted 9 vessels and turned back 136 more since naval siege on Iran began
- StrongUS CENTCOM disables oil tanker for second consecutive day in Gulf of Oman
- DevelopingUS CENTCOM says it diverted two ships since renewal of naval siege
Source and signal
- Open-source intake