“U.S. Forces Disable Vessel Attempting to Enter Iranian Port, Violate Blockade” –CENTCOM

Below is a Central Command news release. The video above goes into much more detail and discusses some of the considerations that come into play when seizing a large container ship.

I was very impressed that the Destroyer was confident that they could target engine room from miles away. It was relatively short range, for a 5″/62, but having observed dozens of gun shoots, my observation was that even in a good exercise, only a minority of rounds were hits. This is a demonstrated capability to forcibly stop any vessel regardless of size, something cutters should be able to do.

Gee, maybe this is another reason larger cutters should have a 5″ gun. 


April 19, 2026

U.S. Forces Disable Vessel Attempting to Enter Iranian Port, Violate Blockade

USCENTCOM

TAMPA, Fla. – 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 17 knots enroute to Bandar Abbas, Iran. American forces issued multiple warnings and informed the Iranian-flagged vessel it was in violation of the U.S. blockade.

After Touska’s crew failed to comply with repeated warnings over a six-hour period, Spruance directed the vessel to evacuate its engine room. Spruance disabled Touska’s propulsion by firing several rounds from the destroyer’s 5-inch MK 45 Gun into Touska’s engine room. U.S. Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit later boarded the non-compliant vessel, which remains in U.S. custody.

American forces acted in a deliberate, professional, and proportional manner to ensure compliance. Since the blockade’s commencement, U.S. forces have directed 25 commercial vessels to turn around or return to an Iranian port.

17 thoughts on ““U.S. Forces Disable Vessel Attempting to Enter Iranian Port, Violate Blockade” –CENTCOM

  1. One of the reports I saw on YouTube said that the USS Spruance fired non explosive rounds from her 5 inch gun into the engine room of a container ship. That’s pretty smart much less damage or loss of life.

    • Explosive rounds might explode after penetrating the hull, and yet might not damage the engines. The BL&P rounds would have continued on and hit the engines.

      We don’t really know yet if the ship was actually unable to move or if they were simply adequately intimidated.

    • Which begs the question of what type of “non explosive” 5” naval gun round was used! Currently there are only three types of non explosive gun rounds used by the U.S. Navy for the Mk.45 Mod.4 5”/62 gun! One is “sand” filled inert, second is “concrete” filled, both of which are used for target practice and the last is the HVP (Hyper Velocity Projectile)! This might be the first test of using the HVP round in a live fire environment against an actual foe…

  2. As I recall modern Container Ships are also double hulled for structural support of the weight of whatever is stored inside their TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent Units) and FEU (Forty-foot Equivalent Units)! And unlike most other ships modern container ships and super tankers have only one massive low speed two-stroke crosshead diesel engine displacing over 2,300-tons, which probably means that a single 5”/62 gun isn’t likely to knock out by one shot…

  3. On April 19, 2026, the USS Spruance (DDG-111), a US Navy Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, fired several rounds from its 5-inch (127 mm) MK 45 gun into the engine room of the Iranian-flagged cargo vessel M/V Touska to disable its propulsion. 

    Key Details of the Operation:

    • Targeting: The shots were fired directly into the vessel’s engine room, effectively blowing a hole in the ship’s hull and disabling its ability to move.
    • Warning and Safety: Before firing, the USS Spruance directed the Touska’s crew to evacuate the engine room, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
    • Training Practice (TP) Rounds: These are designed for live-fire training, simulating the ballistic characteristics of live high-explosive (HE) shells but without the explosive payload.
    • Escalation: This action followed a six-hour standoff during which the crew ignored multiple warnings to stop and violated a U.S. naval blockade near the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf of Oman.
    • Outcome: Following the disablement, US Marines from the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) boarded and seized the vessel.
    • Context: The Touska was already under U.S. Treasury sanctions for previous illegal activity and was suspected of attempting to enter an Iranian port with a restricted cargo. 

    The use of the 5-inch gun was described as a tactical decision to use a precise weapon for “disabling fire” while minimizing, or aiming to avoid, the excessive destruction that might result from using modern explosive ammunition, or large missiles.

  4. The objective was to disable the ship without killing anyone. This was a good decision since the mariners are not enemy combatants and could be of virtually any nationality.

      • They have been adding the Mod4 to DDGs and the cruisers are all being decommissioned.

        The report is was that the Spruance was equipped with the 5″/62 Mk45 Mod4.

      • ”Spruance” mentioned in article is DDG-111 “Spruance”, an Arleigh Burke-class Flight IIA Destroyer! In haste to post article the Mk.45 Mod.1 5”/54-caliber gun of the DDG-963 “Spruance”-class Destroyer photo was used instead…

      • Burke class DDGs beginning with Winston S. Churchill (DDG-81) were equipped With the Mod4 as built. Earlier DDGs are having their 5″/54s replaced with the Mod4 during regular yard periods.

      • No Spruance-class Destroyer was ever refitted with the Mk.45 Mod.4 5”/62-caliber gun! All retained the earlier Mod.1 or Mod.2 guns! The Tico’s were refitted from the Mk.45 Mod.3 to the Mk.45 Mod.4 gun during there scheduled refits…

    • USS Spruance is not a Spruance class destroyer. All the Spruance class are decommissioned. (Paul F. Foster (DD-964) is still being used as a self defense test ship.)

      USS Spruance (DDG-111) is a Burke class Flight IIA Destroyer and is equipped with a 5″/62 Mk45 Mod4.

  5. I saw some comments indicating some of the tankers have been the victim of crypto scams, leading to tankers not knowing if they are paying Iran or some scammers

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