U.S. Hits Chinese-Owned Freighter, Claiming it Ran Blockade on Iran
CENTCOM forces disabled the Panama-flagged cargo vessel Ocean Molica in the Gulf of Oman on October 10, striking its stern with a precision munition after the crew ignored warnings and attempted to run the naval blockade against Iran, with the ship's propulsion disabled and the crew unharmed. The command resumed the blockade against all ships entering or departing Iranian ports on July 14, and reports that four commercial vessels have been disabled and 135 ships turned around during three months of enforcement. Ocean Molica is a 70,000 dwt bulker built in 1996, owned and operated out of China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and had previously departed an Iranian port.
Why it matters: The use of military force against a Chinese-owned vessel for blockade-running places maritime chokepoint enforcement and sanctions compliance at the centre of the briefing's trade-and-security theme.