Politics & Diplomacy
CENTCOM: US fighter jet disables the “Ocean Molica” in the Gulf of Oman; UKMTO reports a tanker on fire after being hit by an unknown projectile near Hormuz
CENTCOM says a US fighter jet struck the stern of the Panama-flagged cargo ship Ocean Molica, which had left an Iranian port, disabling its propulsion with no crew injured. UKMTO separately reports a tanker on fire after a projectile hit near the Strait of Hormuz.
US Central Command (CENTCOM) says a US fighter jet struck the stern of the Panama-flagged merchant ship M/V Ocean Molica, also known as the Arika Sun, with a precision munition in the Gulf of Oman on Saturday, October 10, after the crew “ignored repeated warnings and attempted to run the ongoing naval blockade against Iran”. According to the statement, as reported by Al Jazeera and ERT (in Greek), the vessel had previously departed an Iranian port. The strike “fully disabled the ship’s propulsion without harming the crew”.
CENTCOM also gave a tally of the blockade. Since forces resumed enforcing it against all ships entering or departing Iranian ports on July 14, four commercial vessels have been disabled and 135 ships turned around, and 10 tankers linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have been destroyed. The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) said it had received a report of an incident involving a tanker and military forces in the Gulf of Oman. The naval blockade of Iran was announced by Donald Trump after the latest collapse of negotiations; see also Trump’s statement that the blockade stays.
Murphy: “What is this all for?”
The strike drew criticism in Washington. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy wrote on X, as quoted by Al Jazeera: “What is this all for? Why are taxpayers paying billions to hit commercial ships?” His criticism concerns the cost and purpose of an operation that is now unfolding daily on the sea lanes around Iran.
The published details do not give the port of departure or the cargo of the Ocean Molica. Striking the stern, disabling propulsion with no injuries, suggests the aim was to stop the ship rather than sink it. It is the same method by which, in CENTCOM’s account, the earlier vessels that tried to break the blockade were stopped.
UKMTO: projectile and fire on a tanker near Hormuz
On the night of Saturday to Sunday, UKMTO issued warning 162-26. According to it, a tanker sailing out of the Strait of Hormuz was hit on its port side by an unknown projectile, which started a fire. The crew is safe and the extent of the damage is not known. UKMTO does not attribute the attack to anyone.
On Thursday, October 8, a vessel 94 kilometres north of Madinat ash Shamal in Qatar was hit by multiple projectiles, with casualties, as reported. Earlier in the week the Revolutionary Guards said they had hit the LPG tanker NV Sunshine south of the Strait.
