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By: BBC
US President Donald Trump said his military had seized an Iranian-flagged cargo ship after it tried to evade a US blockade.
President Trump said that the US military initially issued a warning to the ship, but as it continued its movement, “they directly intercepted it by attacking the engine room,” causing the ship to stop.
He added that US forces have now taken control of the ship, which he said attempted to evade an Iranian blockade on Sunday. Trump said the ship, called the Touska, was seized in the Gulf of Oman and given a “full warning to stop.”
He said: “The Iranian crew refused to listen to the warning, so our ship took immediate action to target the engines.” He added that the ship is under US Treasury sanctions and the Navy is currently investigating what is inside. Meanwhile, Iran has yet to officially confirm the incident.
What do we know about the Iranian-flagged ship seized by the US?
MarineTraffic data showed that the ship left Port Klang on April 12, heading for the Gulf of Oman.
AIS data shows that the Touska was at sea approximately 40 miles from the port of Chabahar in southeastern Iran at 13:00 GMT today.
Before that, the ship stopped, turned back, then headed slightly east, and finally came to a complete stop.
The container ship is over 290 meters long and has a draft of approximately 13 meters. It appears to have been fully or partially loaded.
In addition, Touska is on the list of ships sanctioned by the US Treasury Department.
