On Sunday, April 19, 2026, in the Arabian Sea, the US Arleigh Burke Flight IIA-class guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG-111) fired on and detained the Iranian container ship M/V Touska (IMO: 9328900), which had breached the US naval blockade.
Photo: CENTCOM
According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the Iranian vessel was proceeding at a speed of 17 knots through the northern Arabian Sea, heading via the Gulf of Oman toward the port of Bandar Abbas in Iran. The US Navy had reportedly warned the merchant vessel repeatedly by radio that it was violating the naval blockade of Iran.
After the crew of M/V Touska failed to comply with repeated warnings over a period of six hours, the commander of USS Spruance ordered the container ship’s personnel to evacuate its engine room. The engine room was then disabled by several rounds fired from the destroyer’s 127-mm BAE Systems Mk 45 Mod 4 naval gun, causing the vessel to lose propulsion. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), deployed from the America-class amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA-7), then boarded the Iranian vessel and detained its crew.
This was the first use of force since US forces began the naval blockade. Previously, 25 merchant vessels had been ordered to turn back or return to Iranian ports. It is worth noting that M/V Touska is subject to US Department of the Treasury sanctions over previous illegal activity.
The incident was also reported by President Donald Trump on the social media platform Truth Social.
“Today, an Iranian-flagged cargo ship named TOUSKA, nearly 900 feet long and weighing almost as much as an aircraft carrier, tried to get past our Naval Blockade, and it did not go well for them. The U.S. Navy Guided Missile Destroyer USS SPRUANCE intercepted the TOUSKA in the Gulf of Oman, and gave them fair warning to stop. The Iranian crew refused to listen, so our Navy ship stopped them right in their tracks by blowing a hole in the engineroom. Right now, U.S. Marines have custody of the vessel. The TOUSKA is under U.S. Treasury Sanctions because of their prior history of illegal activity. We have full custody of the ship, and are seeing what’s on board!”
According to available information, M/V Touska was sailing from Port Klang in Malaysia, which it had departed on April 12. Earlier, it had called at the Chinese port of Zhuhai, near Hong Kong. Built in 2008, the Panamax-type vessel is 294.1 m long and 32.23 m wide, with a gross tonnage of 54,851 t and a deadweight of 66,432 DWT.
Since September 2012, it has sailed under the Iranian flag, and its operator is the Iranian group IRISL (Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line). It previously sailed under the flags of Sierra Leone, until April 2012, as Adalia; Malta, until February 2012; Germany, until April 2010; and Malta, until April 2008, as Sahand.
Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the US action as maritime piracy and announced retaliation. The leadership of Khatam al-Anbiya, which is responsible for engineering and construction support within the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), also issued a statement, published by the Tasnim news agency:
“Iranian armed forces will soon retaliate against US military’s armed piracy, after US terrorist forces violated a ceasefire, attacked an Iranian commercial vessel in the Sea of Oman, and disabled its navigation system by boarding it with armed troops, Khatam al-Anbiya HQ warned.”
The US Department of Defense released video footage from aboard USS Spruance during the shelling of the Iranian container ship…
U.S. forces operating in the Arabian Sea enforced naval blockade measures against an Iranian-flagged cargo vessel attempting to sail toward an Iranian port, April 19.
Guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) intercepted M/V Touska as it transited the north Arabian Sea at… https://t.co/iyzOQd93C3 pic.twitter.com/HwU4XS48Oq
— DOW Rapid Response (@DOWResponse) April 19, 2026
…and of an SH-60 Seahawk naval helicopter taking off with Marines on board to board the vessel:
U.S. Marines depart amphibious assault ship USS Tripoli (LHA 7) by helicopter and transit over the Arabian Sea to board and seize M/V Touska. The Marines rappelled onto the Iranian-flagged vessel, April 19, after guided-missile destroyer USS Spruance (DDG 111) disabled Touska’s… pic.twitter.com/mFxI5RzYCS
— U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) April 20, 2026
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